According to a recent AP investigation, as many as 1700 predatory priests are still at large and continue to work in jobs allowing them access to children and other vulnerable individuals. Shockingly, these individuals, who have been “credibly accused,” are employed in education, health care, and counseling.

In a sadly ironic twist, some even counsel survivors of sexual abuse.

These accused pedophiles reportedly work with and around potential victims in a range of capacities, including nursing as well as foster and daycare, living near schools and playgrounds. Even though they have left or been removed from the Church, many of them never faced criminal charges – and they continue to prey on children. Unfortunately, due to a lack of coordinated effort and poor communication between the various dioceses and secular law enforcement, it has proven difficult to track and monitor these accused predators.

Slipping Through the Cracks

Of the more than 5,000 predatory priests whose names have been published by various Roman Catholic organizations, approximately 40 percent are still alive. The AP investigation has identified nearly 1,700 who continue to live and work around children and vulnerable persons with little supervision or oversight. Almost 200 of them hold licenses to work as teachers, health care providers, councilors and social workers. Other accused pedophiles continue to work in the Church as priests, deacons, musicians, administrators, and lay pastors and counselors. More than 300 have faced criminal charges for sexual assault, but the AP investigation found that only 85 have been registered as sex offenders.

How the System has Failed

The case of Father Roger A. Sinclair, formerly of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, illustrates how the system has failed to protect children from sexual predators. In 2002, the local diocese removed Sinclair permanently over accusations and complaints dating back to 1979. He resigned from the priesthood in January 2005. Eventually, he wound up in Deschutes County, Ore., where he was arrested in 2017 for the repeated sexual molestation of a young, mentally disabled man. The lead investigator in the case said his crimes “should have never been allowed to happen.”

Another example is former Father Steven Stencil, who had been suspended from the ministry in 2001 for violating a policy prohibiting priests from spending the night with minors. He had also been credibly accused of inappropriate contact with a 17-year-old in 1999. His name has been on a diocese list of predatory priests since 2003, but somehow, he was able to secure employment working around vulnerable youth. One of his former employers told local media, “Had we known his history, we would not have hired him.”

Within that statement lies the heart of the problem: a failure to communicate.

Solutions to Predatory Priests?

The problem is a complex one, involving what amounts to a gap in the system of law itself: on one hand, the Church often finds its hands tied by local statutes that limit what action they can take. Secular law enforcement agencies cannot legally or constitutionally do anything until a crime has actually been committed, at which point the damage has been done.

It falls to average citizens, such as watchdog and victim advocacy organizations, to track and monitor these predators and, when warranted, take civil action.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.