Diocesan archives are required to preserve, and then purge, the notes, evidence, and conclusions of investigations into allegations against clerics which do not go forward or are found to be unproven. As part of wrongfully accused clerics’ right to a good name, the Church is not supposed to preserve in perpetuity all the details of a false accusation made against them. “A brief summary of what occurred along with the text of the definitive sentence is to be retained,” Canon 489. However, diocesan bishops actually have the power to dispense from the legal requirement to destroy their old case files — and they always have.

When the church filed for Chapter 11 in May 2020, some 30 lawsuits alleging abuse had been filed against individual clergy members and the archdiocese as a whole. In the years that followed, the number of claims -- many dating back decades and alleging abuse against Catholic priests, nuns, brothers and deacons -- swelled to 450. After a new state law passed in 2021 and enacted in 2022 extended the window for claims to be filed, the number grew to nearly 500.

A deacon and a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said, “Just because there’s an investigation doesn’t mean these allegations are true or are proven. It takes a lot of courage to come forth with those allegations and then also not to prejudge, wait ‘til all the facts are out." He urges parishioners to show grace and comfort to all those involved.

It is good for us to listen to what the prophet Ezekiel says to the shepherds: “You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the crippled you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them” (34:3-4). It speaks of “fat” and “wool”, that which nourishes and warms; the risk that the Word places before us is therefore that of nourishing ourselves and our own interests, providing ourselves with a comfortable life.

Respect for bona fama is not only an essential element of any human community, but that it is particularly important in the life of the Church, especially for its clergy. It is incomprehensible for an ecclesial community professing fidelity to the incarnate Word of God to ignore or downplay a right so fundamental as the right to reputation. In this light, then, we can more easily see the fundamental hypocrisy at work if one professes caritas but permits calumnia.

“We have a zero tolerance policy in our diocese", the bishop said. “But the same time, unless a person is proved guilty, he cannot be called guilty. It is not in our hands, it is already being taken up by the magistrate, and we have to wait for the process. All legal aid will be provided by the diocese, as is within his rights as part of his ‘right to defense.’”

Between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022, 2,704 allegations were reported by 1,998 victims/survivors of child sexual abuse by clergy throughout 194 Catholic dioceses and eparchies that reported information. These allegations represent reports of abuse between an alleged victim and an alleged accused, whether the abuse was a single incident or a series of incidents over a period of time. The abuse was alleged to have occurred from the 1930’s to the present.

“In light of the information presented, the IRB determined that there is not a reasonable cause to believe Father sexually abused a minor. In addition, the board recommended that the file be closed and Father be returned to ministry. Having given careful consideration to their recommendation, which I accept, I now inform you that I am reinstating Father's faculties to minister. We must keep our commitment to do everything possible to restore Father’s good name. We will share this letter with our priests, asking them to provide it to their parishioners. It will also be sent to the media and archdiocese employees and posted on our archdiocesan website.”

The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed that three alleged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests cannot sue the bishops who supervised those priests. The law draws a clear dichotomy between perpetrators and non-perpetrator defendants for retroactive application of the amended 35-year statute of limitations. The new, extended limitations period applies only to perpetrators.

In dismissing the direct liability claims against the Diocese, the Court applied the traditional tort rules holding an employer can be independently liable for an employee/agent’s sexual misconduct but only if the employer did something negligent, knowing or having reason to know the employee/agent was a risk of harm to others. The Court rejected the plaintiff’s claim that the perpetrator’s sexual relationship with another consenting adult, in violation of Roman Catholic Doctrine, put the Diocese on notice of the perpetrator’s risk to harm children.

It is critical to place a discussion of the importance of reputation within a proper context, particularly as the right relates to the ordained clergy of the Catholic Church. The long list of saints who have suffered defamation (or violent death) does not suggest that bona fama is unimportant within the Church. Followers of Christ do not give up their natural human rights on their baptismal day; neither may those who exercise authority in the Church violate those rights with impunity . . . [Saint Augustine] justifies his refusal to remove the priest’s name from the list of [active] clergy while the case is pending . . . because he does not want to violate a decree from a council in Carthage (which had been held in 387) that had forbidden the suspension of a cleric who had not yet been proven guilty, after having had an opportunity to defend himself.

It was eight years ago this month that the Holy Father accepted the Bishop's resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese. Since that time, the Bishop has embraced a life of prayer and penance for the intention of victims of abuse in the Archdiocese, and for efforts to bring healing into the lives of those who have been impacted in any way by clergy abuse. While those efforts continue, the Archbishop has asked the Bishop to return to the Archdiocese and embrace the work of providing pastoral care to our retired priests and of making himself available for restorative justice efforts related to abuse.

"Any parceling of the person to a single datum of his or her history or personality represents a heavy and unfair a priori condemnation. It becomes clearer, then, how the scourge of abuse, inside and outside the church, is linked rather to personalities that are disharmonious, severely emotionally and relationally deficient. Human maturity: this is precisely the central, though not exclusive, aspect to be taken into serious consideration in the evaluation of those on a vocational journey, in seminaries and religious communities, and not only in the initial phase of the journey."

The priest said he couldn’t afford to continue toward a trial after spending $20,000 in legal fees since filing the defamation case in 2020. The Diocese put the priest on administrative leave in June 2018 after receiving a complaint that the priest had sexually abused an 8-year-old boy in the 1980s. The priest said the claims “were false and made up for the sake of money", and following a diocese investigation that determined the allegation was unfounded, he was returned to active ministry in December 2018. The Diocesan investigator determined that the man’s claims against the priest were “completely false”.

Police this week released a redacted report detailing the 500 hours of investigation, including interviews of 86 witness and assistance from the FBI, of an ex-altar boy’s accusations from prison in 2021 of sexual abuse by a priest. No corroborating evidence was found, and the 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced in April it would not file criminal charges. The Archdiocese announced this week that it had concluded its own investigation, and Father would return to work July 1 as pastor of two churches.

The Diocese has been advised that an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Monsignor was determined to be credible by the Diocese of Richmond's Review Board. Monsignor died in August 2002; the allegation, which involved an incident that took place prior to the establishment of the Diocese in 1974, was reported posthumously.

It is troubling that no legal counsel or protections are required at a questioning of the accused person: “since this is a preliminary phase prior to a possible process, it is not obligatory to name an official advocate for him. If he considers it helpful, however, he can be assisted by a patron of his choice”. Lacking counsel, the accused could provide testimony that might make it harder for him to defend himself or be used against him in later judicial or administrative proceedings. An accused priest is strongly encouraged to retain counsel during a preliminary investigation, since the bishop can take “precautionary measures” that can include exclusion from ministry and removal from a residence.

The scheme, announced by the Bishop’s Conference of France on Wednesday, will allow easier identification of priests able to lead mass and hear confessions. Cards will feature a QR code, scannable by mobile phone, that will flag a red, orange or green light depending on whether its holder had been stripped of clerical status. But it also aims at protecting worshippers from sexual abuse. The system is designed to support existing paper documents used by the Catholic church in France as it tries to clamp down on sex abuse in its ranks.

Francis explained that a sexual predator was to be condemned, “but as a brother” still deserving of love and care. “Even talking to the abuser involves revulsion; it’s not easy. But they are God’s children too. They deserve punishment, but they also deserve pastoral care. How do we provide that? No, it is not easy. The Gospel asks us to love, but how do we love at the same time people who have experienced abuse and their abusers?”

From the ordinary life of a diocese in its parishes and seminary, to the training of catechists, teachers and other pastoral workers, the importance of safeguarding minors and vulnerable persons must be the rule for everyone. In this regard, in religious and apostolic life, even cloistered novices must adhere to the same ministerial standards as their elderly brothers and sisters who spent a lifetime teaching the young. The principles of respect for the dignity of all, for right conduct and a sound way of life must become a universal rule, independent of people’s culture or economic and social condition.