The draft text called for transparency on canonical processes regarding sexual or administrative misconduct, clear and consistent processes of investigating allegations, and for “upholding the procedural rights of the accused.” Several rights of accused persons are specifically delineated in the draft text, including the right to clear information about the nature of allegations, the opportunity to manifest a defense against charges, the right to legal counsel, and the stipulation that “If the allegation is deemed not substantiated, every step possible is to be taken to repair any harm caused to the accused person’s reputation.” The draft text also provides considerably more specificity than the 2002 Charter document on the role of diocesan review boards in assessing both policies and particular cases in U.S. dioceses, along with suggesting clear limitations on the authority and mandate of those bodies.
“Up until about the mid-’90s, a general liability policy used to include coverages for employee liability,” Reilly said. “It would cover sex abuse claims against the diocese stemming from an employee’s abuse. After 1996, insurance policies issued under new revised standards just don’t provide that coverage anymore.” When a diocese files for bankruptcy, she said, it will usually ask the court to halt any litigation against individual parishes, in part because a parish being sued for the actions of a diocesan priest could claim the diocese itself is liable and sue the diocese in turn.
The potential addition of a delict in the Code of Canon Law to address “spiritual abuse.” Cardinal Fernández clarified that the proposed law would target instances where spiritual beliefs and practices, “spiritual elements,” are weaponized to coerce individuals into sexual activity. The cardinal’s reason for this proposed change is that this abuse of spirituality for sexual grooming is “unfortunately not uncommon,” and there is currently no specific law for the church to prosecute such offenses.
The Church had argued that the information was covered by the canon law rule of “the pontifical secret”, or confidentiality. The court ruled that this was less important than the right of journalists to investigate, “especially as regards matters of particular relevance to society”. Colombian bishops’ conference said they respected the decision and would study it, reiterating their “commitment to solidarity with the victims and the search for truth, justice and the comprehensive protection of the rights of boys, girls and adolescents”. However, they continued: “The request to surrender the biographies of all priests, living or dead, belonging to the Catholic Church throughout its history … is based on a general assumption made in bad faith that goes against the presumption of innocence and constitutes a stereotype that in itself implies an act of discrimination.”
A woman who is now an adult has reached a tentative settlement with the Archdiocese in her lawsuit alleging she was sexually abused by two clergy members and a nun while she was a minor attending a Catholic church and school two decades ago. “In this particular matter, claims regarding the individuals have not been found to be credible,” an Archdiocese statement read. “There is no Archdiocesan record of the named woman … at all. The matter remains under internal review while the global settlement process continues.”
“We recognize the significant impact this has had on Monsignor, his loved ones, his parishioners and many priests,” the Archdiocese said in a statement. “Allegations of abuse are often complex matters that take time and require the investigative bodies to be thorough and fair to all parties involved. It is during this process that allegations are weighed against the facts derived through investigation by secular law enforcement and by Archdiocesan investigators in keeping with canon law.” Criminal charges were dropped in 2023, and the Archdiocese said it had completed its canonical investigation, which found that the allegations “did not have a semblance of truth, and therefore unsubstantiated.”
Although the law is put in place to protect children from abuse, the Archdiocese has warned its priests that if they comply with this law, they would face automatic excommunication from the Church for violating the canon law and breaking the seal of confession. Many erroneously convey to people who are not familiar with the full meaning of the sacrament that the Church is opposing the requirement simply to evade dealing with the issue of sex abuse. “All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church,” said the Archdiocese.
“SB 5375 demands that Catholic Priests violate their deeply held faith in order to obey the law, a violation of the Constitution and a breach of the free exercise of religion cannot stand under our Constitutional system of government,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Worse, the law appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals. We take this matter very seriously and look forward to Washington State’s cooperation with our investigation.”
No doubt only persons who have shown consistency when it comes to dealing with allegations of abuse and who are aware of the experiences and expectations of those who have been affected by abuse — victims, their families, their parishes or schools, etc. — will be seen as suitable and credible candidates for being elected as pope. In all countries and on all continents you have people who are highly motivated and deeply committed to safeguarding and to owning the failures of the past, and on all continents and in all countries you have those among leaders and faithful who — for different reasons — still do not apply what the church itself asks them to do and do not want to face reality.
The new law adds clergy members to the state’s list of individuals legally required to report when they have “reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect" including conversations in the confessional. While disclosures in confession or other religious rites where the clergy member is bound to confidentiality are not exempt, religious leaders will retain their privilege to not be compelled to testify in related court cases or criminal proceedings. The Washington State Catholic Conference opposed the legislation. They said it would force priests to break the seal of confession, considered a sacred promise to never reveal any of the information disclosed.
Following his courtroom victories, the priest wanted to chronicle his long ordeal, not just as a way to share his devastating story but also to impart the lessons he learned about healing and recovering from the public attacks he endured. "I learned that healing is not just about clearing your name or proving your innocence. It is about reclaiming your identity, rediscovering your purpose, and allowing the trials you've endured to shape you into someone stronger and more compassionate." In addition to a personal retelling of his adversity, the priest shares how a therapeutic approach and its emphasis on meaning-making can lead to recovery from trauma, such as that suffered from public defamation.
The Archdiocese Independent Review Board discussed publicizing the names of credibly accused clergy members but decided against it because doing so would “stir up controversy.” The IRB publishes only a “positive” list of priests authorized to perform ministerial duties on behalf of the archdiocese, but that list includes clergy members like one priest, with multiple accusations of assaulting minors, as long as those allegations are either pending or the board has deemed them “not sustained. The archbishop, at an IRB meeting, acknowledged the existence of internal lists the archdiocese kept of clergy with sustained accusations of child sexual abuse as determined by the IRB.
While the nature of the priesthood was established by Jesus Christ himself and is unchanging, human hands have built a bureaucratic, inward-focused, reform-defying edifice that must be changed. To this day, there’s very little transparency, both at the diocesan levels and in the Vatican. Yet as the saying goes, sunshine is the best disinfectant, including when matters of morality are at stake. The best way to provide that sunshine is to allow even greater involvement from lay Catholics — i.e., non-priests — in identifying, investigating and responding to allegations of impropriety within the Church - such oversight is needed not only in matters of sexual abuse of minors, but also in finance.
The archbishop writes that while it’s of “paramount importance” to take every allegation of misconduct seriously, the archdiocese must also restore the good name of an accused person when claims are not substantiated. “To that end, I publicly affirm that Father is a priest in good standing and express sincere appreciation for his many years of service to the People of God and the Archdiocese,” he adds. “He deserves our respect and gratitude and I hope you will join me in thanking him for his long-standing dedication.”
The conference said that “disciplinary measures were imposed” against the Cardinal after “verifying the truthfulness of the facts” concerning allegations of sexual abuse against the cardinal. The Cardinal denied that the imposition of the precept meant the allegations against him had been proven. “The decree issued by the [then] Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith… mentions there is a fumus delicti, meaning there is a possible suspicion [of a crime] that has not been proven, because it had not been subject to a trial that provides me with the due right to defense,” the Cardinal wrote. “As I said before, and I say again, I accepted the restrictions imposed against me reservedly in the precept for the good of the Church, leaving a written record that these accusations against me were false, waiting for the occasion to be able to defend myself, something that has not happened.”
That clerical corruption has endured from biblical times until today is not a surprise. Clerics hold power. The theological reality of apostolic succession has the ancillary consequence of granting bishops enormous power in the Church, and sometimes in the world. Lord Acton wrote in the 19th century that power tends to corrupt, but that was already evident to Ezekiel (who excoriates the wicked shepherds [bishops] of Israel). This is the perennial temptation in the Church, and the reason that the Church is semper reformanda, always in need of reform. The Temple needed to be cleansed in the time of Caiaphas. It still does. It always will.
It was the perfect storm: Father's parish served an impoverished community desperate for any financial lifeline, the allegations were recent rather than historic. In 2006 he was removed and later pled guilty to groping allegations against him in return for the recommended five-year sentence. Thus, for the past 20 years, dozens and dozens of accusers have come forward and filed lawsuits or made claims with the Archdiocese, and each progressive iteration of such claims have become more absurd, more implausible, and very obviously fraudulent. (The Attorney General's web site reports some 130 accusers.) But the media knew what it was doing all along. It was a poorly kept secret in the local media for many years that the cases were almost entirely fraudulent, yet they published their stories anyway without question.
Archdiocese says it has proof claims are false, and were conceived as a way to make money. The church has spent millions settling claims. But, the archdiocese says not all were legitimate. "We're alleging that there is a conspiracy of people, a racketeering enterprise of people, who are fabricating false claims involving the former priest," Archdiocese General Counsel said. "The conspiracy is recruiting people who were not abused, giving them scripts and information, hooking them up with lawyers and having them bring cases that they could then settle for." Evidence includes recorded jail phone conversations. "This has to do with protecting the interests of legitimate victims, so that resources meant for them don't go to people who don't deserve them," the General Counsel said. Lawyers who represent abuse victims applaud the archdiocese for uncovering fraudulent claims.
Today, the most vulnerable members of the Catholic Church are its priests who—in a heartbeat and absent any evidence—can be deprived of an untarnished, selfless, life-long ministry. The bishops implemented procedures that were excessive, little informed by either Catholic theology or natural justice. Further, a judgment that a cleric has been “credibly accused” means, in most cases, that the priest’s name will be published on the internet. The Holy See has repeatedly warned against this practice. The concern of the Holy See for priests’ reputations—priests, it should be remembered, who have been found guilty of no crime—has been ignored by the American episcopacy. The American bishops must find the courage to amend the Charter and its procedures, despite the criticism they will undoubtedly receive. Only then will justice be properly served and trust in the episcopacy restored.
Washington Senate Bill 5375 does not include an exemption regarding the rite of confession, but would not compel a clergy member to testify as a witness, only to report what is known to authorities. Sen. Noel Frame said it "is about us being able to have children know that they can trust adults in their lives, particularly members of the clergy". However, the bishop said that “it’s an act of worship. It’s a prayer for us, and the seal of confession is essential to that rite, because a penitent has the right to confess their sins without worrying their sins will become public.” The penalty for breaking that seal, he said, was excommunication.