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.

The priest reiterated his innocence and insisted on denouncing what he considers “irregularities of the canonical process”: being tried twice for the same crime “because the initial acquittal did not please the person who put together the ecclesiastical court”; that “legislation approved after the alleged events” was applied; that the bishop would urge him to plead guilty in his first communication to him; or that “legislation that has not been applied to any layperson” was used. “The whole process has been a shameful farce. There has never been the slightest possibility of defending myself,” the priest said

Last year, the diocesan review board concluded that the accusation against Mulhall was "credible" and that the priest should be added to its public list of "credibly accused priests." Mulhall died at age 90 in 2001. He was ordained in 1937, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President. Last September Vatican officials decried involving the publication of the name of a person simply accused, but of an unproven accusation, without the benefit of any exercise of the right to defense." It concluded that these lists can be especially problematic "when it concerns deceased persons." If the Church is to stand for fairness and justice, diocesan "lists of credibly accused priests" need to be ended.

In response to a bishop requesting an interpretation of Canon 220, the Vatican Dicastery for Legislative Texts strongly cautioned against publishing “news” that would harm the reputation of an individual, especially someone who is deceased, when it comes to priests accused of abuse and not found guilty in civil or canonical procedures. The right to defend oneself and the principles of presumed innocence until proven guilty must be protected and guaranteed. “Furthermore, determining whether an allegation is ‘well-founded’ often rests on a non-canonical foundation and demands a relatively low standard of proof, resulting in the publication of the name of a person simply accused, but of an unproven accusation, without the benefit of having exercised the right to defense."

Vatican protocols require bishops to make a preliminary investigation, and dismiss charges that can be quickly disproven. If there is no good reason to reject the charge immediately—even if there is no way to verify the accusation—the priest is deemed “credibly accused” and a thorough investigation is required. As the Dicastery for Legislative Texts observes, that first step requires only “a relatively low standard of proof.” By listing the priests who are “credibly accused,” the diocese encourages the false belief that they should be considered guilty until proven innocent.

The Dicastery for Legislative Texts is the most recent Vatican department to prohibit the practice of dioceses releasing lists of “credibly accused” clergy. Both the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith and for Clergy — and Pope Francis personally — have previously warned against the practice. The dicastery added that it is not permissible to publish lists of accused clerics “for alleged reasons of transparency or reparation (unless the subject consents and excluding deceased persons).” During his 2019 global summit on clerical sexual abuse and episcopal accountability, Pope Francis specifically ruled out such practices in his own published “Points for Reflection".

In the wake of the clerical abuse crisis, church leaders may have surrendered too much authority to risk managers focused on eliminating every threat. The Second Vatican Council taught that bishops are not mere delegates of the pope, regional managers of an international operation headquartered in Rome. A quick glance at publicly available documents should raise serious doubts, particularly regarding the discipline of diocesan clergy. It seems that civil lawyers and risk managers, not bishops, are often running the show.

Across the U.S., 40 dioceses and religious orders have declared bankruptcy. The first was the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, in 2004. The most recent was the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, in late September 2024. The cases vary, but they have one thing in common: The day the diocese filed its petition for bankruptcy is a new benchmark — no one is allowed to file claims against the church for abuses that happened before that date, even if a given state retroactively extends the statute of limitations. “The petition date marks the last day on which a person could have had a claim and be subject to the bankruptcy proceeding. For people who are being injured now, the bankruptcy case is irrelevant.”

Maryland’s highest court, in a 4-3 decision on February 3, narrowly upheld the Child Victims Act of 2023, a law that retroactively and prospectively repeals the civil statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse. With the addition of Maryland, 19 states, two US territories, and the federal government have eliminated the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases, part of a growing national trend led by state legislatures enabling near-permanent access to the civil justice system.

This week, state lawmakers are once again attempting to enact laws, Senate Bill 5375 and House Bill 1211, which seek to force priests to violate the Seal of Confession if child abuse is revealed within the celebration of the sacrament. In light of this, I wish to reiterate my previous statement regarding this matter: I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishop and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail. The Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.

“Overall, 86 percent of all alleged perpetrators were identified as ‘deceased, already removed from ministry, already laicized, or missing,’ not surprising as about seven-tenths (72 percent) of the alleged abuses occurred in 1979 or earlier," according to a new report from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). Over $5 billion has been paid in costs due to the abuse crisis in the U.S. Catholic Church. CARA said over the past 20 years, dioceses and religious communities have deemed a total of 16,276 allegations of abuse of minors by priests, deacons, and religious brothers as “credible.”

Parishes paid a total of $53 million toward the settlement, and every one of the 136 parishes belonging to the diocese filed for bankruptcy and contributed, whether or not they were being sued. The move was greeted with dismay at most parishes. It's one piece of a bankruptcy settlement that took four years to reach, following claims that scores of priests and other adults who worked for the diocese from the 1950s onward abused children in their care. About 30 parishes that were not facing litigation were included in the bankruptcy and thus contributed to the diocese's payout.

Shortly after his election as pope, he recalls in his book, he visited Benedict at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence south of Rome. “He gave me a large white box,” Francis writes. “‘Everything is in here’, he told me. ‘Documents relating to the most difficult and painful situations. Cases of abuse, corruption, dark dealings, wrongdoings.’” Benedict then told him: “I have arrived this far, taken these actions, removed these people. Now it’s your turn.” In Hope, Pope Francis says: “I have continued along his path.”