An update on the clerical sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in the United States and its impact on education

Abstract

The November 10, 2020 publication of the 461-page Report On The Holy See’s Institutional Knowledge And Decision-Making Related To Former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick (1930–2017), commonly known as the McCarrick Report, painted an unflattering, if not criminal, picture of the dearth of leadership in the hierarchy of the American Catholic Church. This Report, which describes ‘another tragic chapter in the Church’s long struggle to confront the crimes of sexual abuse by clergy,’ examined the role of the disgraced, laicised, former Cardinal-Archbishop Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C. The Report chronicles McCarrick’s egregious abuse of power as he took advantage of adult males, rather than children, as another dimension of the ongoing scandal that has rocked the American Catholic Church for more than the past quarter of a century.

Keywords:

• Priestly abuse
• child abuse
• sexual abuse
• American Catholic Church

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See Weigel, George, “The McCarrick Report: No Smoking Gun, but Massive System Failure,” The New Catholic World Report, Nov. 10, 2020, https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2020/11/10/the-mccarrick-report-no-smoking-gun-but-massive-system-failure/ (decrying that ‘McCarrick counted on the members of the episcopal club not to break the club’).

2 “Washington archdiocese allocates $2m for Cardinal Wuerl’s ‘continuing ministry.’” The Pillar (Archdiocese of Washington), March 3, 2021, https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/ washington-archdiocese-allocates. See also CNA Staff, “Investigation: Cardinal Wuerl received $2 million in 2020 for ‘ministry activities,’” Catholic News Agency, March 4, 2021, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/ investigation-cardinal-wuerl-received-2-million-in-2020-for-ministry-activities.

3 Condon, Ed. “Analysis: The fall of Cardinal Wuerl.” Catholic News Agency, Jan. 14, 2019, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/analysis-the-fall-of-cardinal-wuerl-69022.

4 Hadro, Matt. “McCarrick Report: American Catholics urge ‘truth and transparency.’” Catholic News Agency, Nov. 10, 2020, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mccarrick-report-american-catholics-urge-truth-and-transparency-78449.

5 See also Hadro, Matt. “McCarrick Report at odds with Cardinal Wuerl’s claims of Ignorance.” Catholic News Agency, Nov. 13, 2020, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mccarrick-report-at-odds-with-cardinal-wuerls-claims-of-ignorance-87388.

6 John Jay College of Criminal Justice (2004), The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950–2002, https://www.bishopaccountability.org/reports/2004_02_27_JohnJay_revised/2004_02_27_John_Jay_Main_Report_Optimized.pdf at p. 7. For a critique of this report, highlighting salient points, see Reece, Thomas J. “Facts, Myths and Question.” America Magaizine. March 22, 2004, https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/478/article/facts-myths-and-questions. For a follow-up study, see John Jay College Research Team (2011), The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010, http://votf.org/johnjay/John_Jay_Causes_and _Context_ Report.pdf. For a critique of this later study, see Donohue, William. “John Jay 2011 Study On Sexual Abuse: A Critical Analysis.” Catholic League, 2011, https://www.catholicleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/John-Jay-Report-1-27-12-Update.pdf.

7 John Jay Report (2004) Id. at 9 (‘The largest group of alleged victims (50.9%) was between the ages of 11 and 14, 27.3% were 15–17, 16% were 8–10 and nearly 6% were under age 7. Overall, 81% of victims were male and 19% female. Male victims tended to be older than female victims. Over 40% of all victims were males between the ages of 11 and 14.’).

8 See, e.g., Johnston, Jerry. “Utah Bishop Says Scandal Unfairly Taints All Priests.” Deseret News, April 19, 2002, A 1, 2002 WLNR 11269331 (‘Media handling of the sex-abuse scandals facing America's Catholic Church has subjected priests to “profiling of a sort” … “I am concerned over the impression that all priests are likely to do this,’ according to Bishop George Niederauer of Salt Lake City).

9 See, e.g., Beck and Fetters 2019. https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/03/catholic-church-abuse-crisis-how-parents-are-grappling/584866/ (discussing how Catholics are left to grapple with what the abuse scandal means for them, their children, and their faith).

10 Convey (1992).

11 John Paul, II, Saint Pope, address of his Holiness John Paul II, September 12, 1987, https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1987/september/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19870912_scuole-cattoliche.html.

12 See infra note 36 and accompanying text.

13 McDonnell Nieto del Rio, Giulia. “A Growing Number of Catholic Schools Are Shutting Down Forever.” N.Y. Times, Sept. 5, 2020, updated Feb. 8, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/05/us/catholic-school-closings.html (reporting that “[a]bout 150 Catholic schools have closed nationwide citing insurmountable financial pressures from the coronavirus pandemic.”). See also Gjelten, Tom. “The Closure Of Catholic Schools Is ‘Devastating,’ Advocates Say.” National Public Radio, July 30, 2020, https://www.npr.org/2020/07/30/896850188/the-closure-of-catholic-schools-is-devastating-advocates-say.

14 McDonald and Schultz (2018), 4.

15 “Catholic school enrollment sees sharpest drop in nearly 50 years,” Catholic News Agency, Feb. 8, 2021, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/catholic-school-enrollment-sees-sharpest-drop-in-nearly-50-years-46744.

16 For a discussion of this Amendment, see Russo, Charles J. & Thro, William E. (2021). “The Demise of the Blaine Amendment and A Triumph for Religious Freedom and School Choice: Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue,” University of Dayton Law Review, Vol 41.

17 McCluskey (1964).

18 McDonald and Schultz 2018 supra note 19 at p. 1.

19 Buetow (1970).

20 McCluskey 1964, supra note 19 at 23.

21 McDonald and Schultz 2018, id. at p. 3.

22 Buetow, supra note 24.

23 Id.

24 McDonald and Schultz 2018, supra note 19 at p. 3.

25 Id. at 16.

26 Id.

27 Rodriguez and Briscoe (2017); 3–32.

28 McDonald and Schultz 2018, supra note 19 at p. 16.

29 Id at p. 7 This total consisted of 4,812 elementary middle schools and 1,1169 secondary schools.

30 “Catholic Academies and Parish Schools Make a Difference.” Diocese of Brooklyn. 2021. https://catholicschoolsbq.org/catholic-academies-and-parish-schools-make-a-difference.

31 McDonald and Schultz 2018, supra note 19 at p. 16.

32 See supra note 10 and accompanying text. See also McCarrick Report, supra note 2 at pp. 7, 9, 439-442.

33 See, e.g., McCarrick Report, id. at pp. 5, 16-18, 29, 50, 59, 126, 202, 245.

34 Winfield, Nicole. “McCarrick: What’s known about the abusive US ex-cardinal.” AP News, Nov. 9, 2020, https://apnews.com/article/theodore-mccarrick-ex-cardinal-scandal-989fb97f4f0cad8c4926e8cb795ba2bf.

35 See, e.g., O’Neill, Robert. “Law Says He Was Told Priest’s Move [sic] Not Risky: The Cardinal in a Rare Deposition, Said Other People, Including Some Doctors, Assured Him”. Philadelphia Inquirer, May 9, 2002 at A 3, 2002 WLNR 2876648 (reporting that Cardinal Law allegedly acted on the advice of professionals in returning a priest who was accused of sexually molesting more than 130 children over thirty years to active ministry because he was no longer a threat).

36 Frankovic, Kathy. “How the child sex abuse scandal impacts the Catholic Church – and Catholics,” You.gov, Feb. 28, 2019, https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/02/28/how-sex-abuse-scandal-impacts-catholic-church

37 “Pope Francis Still Highly Regarded in U.S., but Signs of Disenchantment Emerge: Five years after his election, pope draws growing number of negative assessments, especially from Catholic Republicans.” Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life, March 6, 2018, https://www.pewforum.org/2018/03/06/pope-francis-still-highly-regarded-in-u-s-but-signs-of-disenchantment-emerge/pf_03-06-18-pope-00-01/ (reporting that ‘the share of American Catholics who say Pope Francis is “too liberal” has jumped 15 percentage points between 2015 and today, from 19% to 34%. And about a quarter of U.S. Catholics (24%) now say he is naïve, up from 15% in 2015.’).

38 Id.

39 Id.

40 John Jay Report, supra note 11 at 105.

41 The No.1 Story of 2007? The Intersection Between Church and State. Daily News (Los Angeles), Dec. 29, 2007 at B1, 2008 WLNR 25782961 (adding that this total included the $660 million the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid to settle suits filed by more than 500 claimants).

42 Gjelten, Tom. “The Clergy Abuse Crisis Has Cost The Catholic Church $3 Billion,” National Public Radio, Aug. 18, 2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/08/18/639698062/the-clergy-abuse-crisis-has-cost-the-catholic-church-3-billion.

43 Zogbi, Emily. “The Catholic Church Has Paid Nearly $4 Billion Over Sexual Abuse Claims, Group says,” Newsweek, Aug. 18, 2018, https://www.newsweek.com/over-3-billion-paid-lawsuits-catholic-church-over-sex-abuse-claims-1090753

44 For an early list of the most expensive settlements to that date, see Rowe, Peter. “Largest sexual abuse settlements by Roman Catholic institutions in the U.S.” The San Diego Union Tribune. Sept. 10, 2017, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sd-me-settlements-20170831-story.html (reporting on settlements in 1. Los Angeles (two settlements for a combined $720 million) and San Diego ($198.1 million), California; the Oregon Province of the Jesuits, ($166.1 million); Orange, California ($100 million); Boston, Massachusetts ($84.25 million); Covington, Kentucky ($79.082 million); Wilmington, Delaware ($77.425 million); Portland, Oregon ($71.45 million); and Oakland, California ($56 million)).

45 McCarrick Report, supra note 2 at p. 203 note 678.

46 For references to this amount, see the McCarrick Report, id. at p. 228, note 783. See also Condon, Ed. “Did McCarrick use charitable fund to settle abuse claim?” Catholic News Agency, Nov. 11, 2020, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/did-mccarrick-use-charitable-fund-to-settle-abuse-claim-91595.

47 See, e.g., Goodstein, Laurie. “Archdiocese of Cincinnati Fined in Sex Abuse Scandal.” N.Y. Times, Nov. 21, 2003 (reporting that the Archdiocese pled guilty to a misdemeanor for ‘failing to report sexually abusive priests in the 1970s and 1980s, agreeing to pay a $10,00 fine and to ‘establish a $3 million fund to compensate sexual abuse victims who cannot sue the church because their cases are beyond the statute of limitations.’).

48 See, e.g., “Timeline of key events surrounding child-pornography case that brought down Kansas City bishop.” Fox News, April 21, 2015, Last Update May 3, 2016, https://www.foxnews.com/us/timeline-of-key-events-surrounding-child-pornography-case-that-brought-down-kansas-city-bishop (reporting that Bishop Robert Finn, convicted of failing to report suspected child abuser, received two years of probation and was ordered to offer ‘mandated reporter training to administrative staff and clergy;’ the abuser was sentenced to fifty years in prison).

49 Gold, Michael. “Facing 200 Abuse Claims, Diocese Becomes U.S.’s Largest to Seek Bankruptcy: The move by the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island came after numerous lawsuits were filed under the Child Victims Act.” N.Y. Times, Oct. 1, 2020, Updated Oct. 5, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/nyregion/rockville-centre-diocese-bankruptcy.html. For a list of the nineteen dioceses and communities that declared bankruptcy through late May 2018, see NCR Staff. “Catholic dioceses and orders that filed for bankruptcy and other major settlements.” National Catholic Reporter. May 31, 2018, https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/catholic-dioceses-and-orders-filed-bankruptcy-and-other-major-settlements.

50 Gjelten, supra note 47 (quoting Rev. Thomas Reece, S.J.).

51 “Americans See Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse as an Ongoing Problem: Most U.S. Catholics say sexual misconduct is not unique to their church.” Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life, June 11, 2019, https://www.pewforum.org/2019/06/11/americans-see-catholic-clergy-sex-abuse-as-an-ongoing-problem/. See also Moreno, Ivan & Karoub, Jeff. “Catholics consider withholding donations amid scandals,” AP News. Aug. 19, 2018, https://apnews.com/article/7ddab5d7ca7a4ac8843209489cbc23a7.

52 While it is all but impossible to quantify, it is important to take the emotional impact of priestly sex abuse into consideration. For letters detailing the emotional cost of the scandal, see “The Heavy Toll of Priest Sex Abuse: Readers share their stories of growing up in the Catholic church and of the culture that allowed the abuse to happen.” N.Y. Times, July 24, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/opinion/letters/catholic-church-abuse.html? auth=login-email&login=email.

53 See, e.g., Della Costa, Anna Maria. “‘The priest wielded God as tool:’ Sexual abuse survivor fighting to get law changed on statute of limitations on allegations, lawsuits,” The Bulletin (Norwich, Conn.), June 23, 2019 at A1, 2019 WLNR 19286698; Kessler, Brandie. “What’s next after big Pa. priest abuse report? Clergy sexual abuse report puts spotlight on statute of limitations.” York Daily Record, August 15, 2018 at A5, 2018 WLNR 24905970. But see “Sexual Abuse Bill Dies in Pennsylvania.” Catholic League, March 23, 2021, https://www.catholicleague.org/sexual-abuse-bill-dies-in-pennsylvania/ (reporting that the bill, designed to suspend the statute of limitations to allow cases against priests only to succeed, was rejected when supporters introduced it as a proposed constitutional amendment subject to voter approval because the governor’s office failed to subject it to the mandatory public review process; supporters were unwilling to add language applying the bill to public school teachers).

54 Other attempts at extending statutes of limitations involved public school teachers, who committed more cases of abuse are left unaddressed due to the political power of their unions, failed. See, e.g., “Sexual Abuse by Teachers is on the Rise.” The Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology, & Related Services, 2017, https://childrenstreatmentcenter.com/sexual-abuse-teachers/.

55 Pope Francis has said as much. Baliey, Sarah Pulliam, Ohlheiser Abby, & McCoy, Terrence. “Pope Francis finally met with sex abuse survivors but more action is critical, activists say” Sept. 27, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/09/27/pope-francis-says-he-has-met-with-sexual-abuse-survivors/ (quoting the Pope as saying ‘clergy and bishops will be held accountable when they abuse or fail to protect children’ as he attended a meeting in Philadelphia).

56 See, e.g., O’Loughlin, Michael J. “What happens when a priest is falsely accused of sexual abuse.” America Magazine. April 17, 2019, https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/04/17/what-happens-when-priest-falsely-accused-sexual-abuse (detailing the stories of falsely accused priests who were returned to their ministries); “Just the Facts, Ma’am: False Accusations Against Catholic Priests Are Now At Epic Proportions.” TheMediaReports.com, May 13, 2019, http://www.themediareport.com/2019/05/13/false-accsuations-against-catholic-priests-facts/ (reporting on unsubstantiated claims of abuse); MacRae, (Fr.) Gordon J. “A Weapon of Mass Destruction: Catholic Priests Falsely Accused.” Linkiedin.com, August 6, 2017 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/weapon-mass-destruction-catholic-priests-falsely-accused-macrae/ (reporting on two men who pled guilty to fraud charges and were sentenced to less than two years in prison for demanding $850,000 from the Archdiocese of Boston based on false claims of past abuse); “The Truth About Falsely Accused Priests: The accused are often presumed guilty until proven innocent, while the media distorts the narrative of child abuse in the US.” New Catholic World, Jan. 5, 2012, https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2012/01/05/the-truth-about-falsely-accused-priests/ (an interview with Dave Pierre, a journalist who operates TheMediaReport.com, which examines anti-Catholicism and bias in media).

57 “Americans See Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse as an Ongoing Problem: Most U.S. Catholics say sexual misconduct is not unique to their church.” Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life. June 11, 2019, https://www.pewforum.org/2019/06/11/americans-see-catholic-clergy-sex-abuse-as-an-ongoing-problem/ (reporting that ‘While most Catholics say clergy sexual abuse is an ongoing problem (69%), roughly a quarter (24%) think sexual abuse and misconduct by Catholic priests and bishops mostly doesn’t happen anymore – a larger share than in any other religious group.’).

58 See, e.g., the 2018 guidelines promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/child-and-youth-protection/upload/Charter-for-the-Protection-of-Children-and-Young-People-2018-final.pdf. This is a revision of the 2005 guidelines.

59 See, e.g., Massachusetts General Laws Annotated (West), Chapter 119 § 51A, Reporting of suspected abuse or neglect; mandated reporters; collection of physical evidence; penalties; content of reports; liability; privileged communication (revised, effective March 4, 2020).

60 For a discussion of ways of dealing with this issue, see Wassermand (2017), 1149.

61 Isaiah 41.10, New Jerusalem Bible.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Charles J. Russo

Charles J. Russo, M.Div., J.D., Ed.D., Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences, Director of its Ph.D. Program, and Research Professor of Law in the School of Law at the University of Dayton (Ohio); he is also an Adjunct Professor at Notre Dame University of Australia School of Law, Sydney Campus. Russo has written and/or co-authored more than 325 articles in peer-reviewed journals and has written or edited 74 books.