Reports Have Decreased at an Average Rate of 30% Per Year Since 2020.
Newsroom, Gaudium Press – Reports of sexual abuse of minors committed by members of the Catholic clergy in the United States have decreased by 32% in the past year, according to the annual report published by the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The document, covering the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, records a total of 902 allegations filed by 855 victims, compared to 1,308 reported the previous year. The data comes from a survey conducted across 195 Catholic dioceses and eparchies in the country, in collaboration with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, and an audit carried out by the firm StoneBridge Business Partners.
The report is part of the accountability process established by U.S. bishops in 2002 through the creation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, an initiative that set guidelines and protocols for handling allegations of child abuse within the Church.
During the audited period, 717 clergy members were identified as alleged offenders, 54% of whom are already deceased.
The StoneBridge audit also revealed several instances of noncompliance by some ecclesiastical jurisdictions regarding the articles set out in the 2018 revision of the aforementioned Charter.
Among these is the Diocese of Our Lady of Deliverance of the Syriac Catholic Church in the United States, which was deemed non-compliant for lacking a safe environment training program and failing to conduct background checks on its volunteers.
Likewise, the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown (Pennsylvania) was cited for not maintaining a functional review board during the audited period.
“Evaluating compliance with the Charter allows each diocese and eparchy to identify its strengths and weaknesses, as well as to detect areas requiring improvement—something crucial in our mission to protect children,” the report emphasized.
In this regard, the Church reaffirmed its commitment to the safety of minors and vulnerable adults through background checks for clergy, employees, and volunteers, and through training in the detection and reporting of signs of abuse.
The report reiterates that this commitment, as established in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, translates into a policy of zero tolerance toward abuse.
According to accumulated data from the past five years, reports have decreased at an average annual rate of 30% since 2020.
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj with information from CNA / Infocatólica
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