There remains a sizable gap between the Vatican’s vision of best practice and how U.S. dioceses process allegations. This is especially true of the first stages of handling an accusation, in which dioceses often issue definitive-sounding statements before the full facts of the case are known, and before accused clergy are allowed to mount any kind of canonical defense. The results can lead to a denial of due process for accused clergy, and premature, sometimes irreparable, damage to their public reputations.

"On the basis of a single accusation from thirty or forty years ago, priests are suspended from ministry with their reputations destroyed and their lives in tatters. They must forever wear the scarlet letter of abuse pinned to their garb. Do bishops realize that such actions veer closely toward rash judgment, calumny, and slander, all condemned by the eighth commandment? This entire process has had a devastating impact on priests — who know that they do not have the support of their ecclesiastical superiors and realize they can be deprived of their ministries, their reputations, and their livelihoods in the blink of an eye." Guarino wrote.

As far as the review board is concerned, they make sure that we are removing from ministry anybody who’s been credibly accused of abuse, and they help us assess the credibility of allegations and suitability of ministry of those who have been accused. We rely on them to give us advice and ask questions to make sure that we’re asking all the questions that need to be asked and that no stone goes unturned that could help us understand what happened, often, in situations that allegedly occurred years ago.

“During his leave from active ministry, Monsignor engaged in a sincere and prayerful effort to strengthen his priestly vows and has favorably responded to every request made by me and by the Diocese. Let me state unequivocally that the Diocese has received no allegations of illegal misconduct of any kind by Monsignor, and that I have every confidence in returning Monsignor to active ministry and in his ability to accompany the people of God of this great parish as together you journey toward a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the Person of Jesus Christ." The bishop said.

It established a one-and-done policy which saw clergymen against whom abuse allegations were substantiated being removed permanently from public ministry. Since its adoption and subsequent Vatican approval, the charter has been revised three times, most recently in 2018. Plans called for the next update to occur by 2025, but work has already begun by the bishops' Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People.

At least 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia make it a crime for pastoral ministers to engage in sexual conduct with their spiritual directees or others who recieve from them pastoral counseling. The bill would establish “that a person is legally incapable of consenting to sexual conduct when they are a member or adherent of a church or religious group and the actor is a member of the clergy or minister providing the person with pastoral counseling services.”

It’s open season on priests, and there seems to be no end in sight. It is very difficult for a priest accused today to get a fair hearing. A priest is considered guilty until proven innocent even by the church. I know several long-time priests with otherwise unblemished records accused last November. Their priesthoods are effectively over. The hierarchy allows this injustice to continue.

"No defense is possible for accused priests. Once a civil suit has been filed, the policy in certain dioceses is to remove priests from ministry—even if the charges are decades old and lack any evidence. Cases are not even submitted to a review board prior to suspension. The filing of a civil suit is enough for a priest to lose his ministry and have his reputation as a man and a priest reduced to tatters."

Publishing the names of the accused before they are found guilty in some kind of judicial or even extrajudicial process is a horrible abuse and causes irreparable damage. If there is a single fruit of my research and publication, I hope it is the removal of those so-called “credible defendants” lists.

“Sexual abuse has always been wrong, for sure,” O’Malley said. “But how pastors have dealt with these accusations, while inadequate in some cases, should not be seen through the lens of what we know today.”

"It is immaturity—sexual and emotional immaturity—that leads to this kind of sexual abuse, because these guys are stunted, and their psycho-sexual development hits a plateau. They can’t identify with anybody beyond adolescent age, which is why they associate with them. And, in some cases, molest them. That’s the God’s honest truth.

The alleged victim has asked the Diocese of Yakima to remove Father's remains from the priests’ circle. The episcopal vicar for the diocese, said his request has been considered and will be denied. “It has been our practice to celebrate with a minimum of ceremony the funeral Masses of priests accused of abuse. However, burying the dead is one of the corporal works of mercy. These works are central to our response to the gift of the faith, and in our carrying out the mission of the Church.

The term “boundary violation” does not have a clear definition or universal meaning. There is no legal definition, in civil or canon law, of what a boundary violation could be. Because “boundary violation” is an ambiguous term, it could be used for something quite serious, or it could be meant to signify something akin to excessive swearing at someone — that could be a boundary violation. It’s not necessarily clear that all boundary violations are inherently physical, or that they are inherently sexual, either. They are not a category of crime.

“Prayer and penance” is the permanent removal from priestly ministry whereby the offender is not permitted to celebrate Mass publicly or to administer the Sacraments. He may not wear clerical attire or present himself publicly as a priest. The cleric is placed under the supervision of the Diocese.

Father consistently denied the allegations and cooperated with the investigations, the diocese said. The Bureau of Investigation investigated and the County District Attorney announced this week that he would not file charges. The archdiocese also investigated the allegations and determined Father is able to return to ministry.

Pope Francis said: “I would like you to propose better methods to enable the Church to protect minors and vulnerable persons and to assist the healing of survivors, in the recognition that justice and prevention are complementary. Indeed, your service provides a proactive and prospective vision of the best practices and procedures that can be implemented in the entire Church.” The commission will have a structural input in the administration of justice.

Pope Francis has asked the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors to produce an annual report on what the Catholic Church is doing around the world to prevent the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. “This report will be a factor of transparency and accountability and – I hope – will provide a clear audit of our progress in this effort. Without that progress, the faithful will continue to lose trust in their pastors, and preaching and witnessing to the Gospel will become increasingly difficult.” Pope Francis said.

"A diplomatic mission of the Apostolic Nunciature (Embassy of the Holy See) [is] established . . . and its archives enjoy inviolability". What plaintiffs attorneys want includes correspondence between the seminary, the abbey, the Archdiocese and the papal nuncio; speaking notes from meetings attended by the nuncio where sexual misconduct has been addressed; investigation records arising from a 1987 anonymous letter to the nuncio from seminarians.

The new text of canon 695 §1 says: “A religious must be dismissed from the institute for the delicts mentioned in can. 1395, 1397, and 1398, unless in the delicts mentioned in can. 1395, §2-3 and 1398 §1, the superior decides that dismissal is not completely necessary and that correction of the religious, restitution of justice, and reparation of scandal can be resolved sufficiently in another way.”

The Diocese's effort to keep secret the psychological treatment records of accused priests was rejected Thursday by a state appellate court in a ruling that could affect thousands of Child Victims Act cases in New York. The appellate panel also upheld the state Supreme Court decision ordering the diocese to turn over the personnel records of at least 48 priests whom the church determined had been credibly accused of child sexual abuse. It also ordered the diocese to turn over the reports and other notes from investigators hired by the diocese — some of them retired FBI agents — who had investigated sexual abuse allegations against priests.