A former federal judge hired by the Archdiocese of New York to investigate its handling of priests accused of abuse says all priests and deacons in the archdiocese who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse have been removed from ministry.

According to the San Diego Union Tribune, former federal judge Barbara Jones was given total access to some 2,000 personnel files, which she reviewed over the course of a year, in addition to conducting dozens of interviews, according to the newspaper.

Jones determined that the New York archdiocese has been very strict in its methodology for dealing with all levels of employees, including priests, accused of abuse in a ‘credible’ fashion. She claims there have been just two corroborated sexual abuse complaints against clergy since 2002, the year the Dallas-based convention of American Catholic bishops adopted extensive rules for managing accusations of this nature.

Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests (SNAP)

A representative of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known by its acronym SNAP, commented in the Union-Tribune article that Jones’ investigation was an effort by the archdiocese to address the internal issues surrounding priests accused of abuse rather than subjecting it to the scrutiny of the law. In an effort to be more fair and independent, SNAP suggested that New York’s attorney general initiate her own investigation.

SNAP had hoped that Archbishop Timothy Dolan—who contracted Jones to conduct her review last year—open it up for a secondary opinion aided by the full power to subpoena and secure testimony under oath. Jones said the majority of the $67 million already paid to sexual abuse victims was for abuse perpetrated by clergy who are now deceased. The church created a victim’s compensation fund in 2016 and has thus far has compensated 338 claimants.

Different Definitions

According to SNAP, rather than a central body determining the credibility of accusations, “each diocese determines its own standard to deem a priest credibly accused, with the allegations ranging from inappropriate conversations and unwanted hugging to forced sodomy and rape.”

As indicated by SNAP, the names of 5,100 clergy members who have been ‘credibly accused’ of molestation or related acts have been made public by the Catholic Church. Seventy-five percent of these names have been released in the past year. According to the Associated Press, the list revealed that approximately 1,700 are still alive and though they have left the church, these men “are living under the radar with little to no oversight from religious authorities or law enforcement.”

This is an issue with sexual abuse perpetrators who are not criminally charged. There is no methodology in place to keep tabs on them. As discovered by an extensive AP review and analysis, a good number of the credibly abused clerymen were found to be livinfg near or working with  children. Though not in active ministry, many of these men were found to be teaching school, volunteering at nonprofits, fostering children, living near playgrounds, or volunteering in church parishes. Purportedly, 76 of the alleged sexual perpetrators were never located.

Recommendations to the New York Archdiocese

While largely affirming the New York archdiocese’s efforts to deal with the crisis, Jones was forthright in making key recommendations to the archbishop. Among them was the need to digitize paper records, something that would enable data to be generated and thus make it more difficult for clergy abusers to live in the shadows.

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