Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
1950-2004 · 54 years · show in timeline

USA 1950 to 2004: Lay board appointed by the bishops' conference accuses bishops of secrecy, transferring abusers without warning and disregarding victims, and calls their foot-dragging after 1992 inexcusable

After the abuse scandal in Boston the US bishops' conference set up a lay body in 2002, the National Review Board. On 27 February 2004, together with the John Jay College study, it presented its report on the crisis, led by the lawyer Robert S. Bennett and based on interviews with more than 85 victims, bishops, priests and experts. It asks why abusers could become priests and why they stayed in ministry after their bishops knew. According to the report bishops treated allegations as isolated cases, practised secrecy out of fear of scandal, put the interests of accused priests above those of victims and with distressing frequency transferred abusers to other parishes or dioceses, where they abused again. The principles adopted in 1992 were not binding, and only about half of the dioceses implemented them.

Period
1950-2004 (54 years)
Country
United States
Institutions
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People
Category
Sexual abuse, Cover-up
Level of evidence
A Primary source · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. The report was commissioned by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, is based on interviews with more than 85 victims, bishops, priests, academics and others knowledgeable about the crisis, and was released on 27 February 2004. The board also commissioned the John Jay College to produce an empirical study. The report seeks to answer two questions: why individuals with a disposition to prey sexually upon minors could become priests, and how they could remain in the priesthood after allegations and evidence became known to their bishops.
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Vorbemerkung BishopAccountability
    „was based on interviews with over 85 victims, bishops, priests, academics,“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, Vorbemerkung BishopAccountability. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Einleitung
    „commissioned a study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, Einleitung. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Einleitung
    „after allegations and evidence of such abuse became known to their bishops“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, Einleitung. Original

Background

Response of the Church

  1. Among the causes of the failure the report lists: bishops treated allegations as isolated, fear of scandal led to secrecy and concealment, the threat of litigation caused some to adopt an adversarial stance, and some put the interests of accused priests above those of victims and declined to hear victims directly. As a result abusers were with distressing frequency allowed to remain where they had abused, reassigned to other parishes, or allowed to live in other dioceses, where further abuse predictably followed.
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Executive Summary
    „the concerns of the universal Church. The fear of scandal caused them“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, Executive Summary. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Executive Summary
    „to practice secrecy and concealment.“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, Executive Summary. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Executive Summary
    „accused priests above those of the victims and too often declined to“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, Executive Summary. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Executive Summary
    „sexual abuse of minors were, with distressing frequency, allowed to remain“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, Executive Summary. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Executive Summary
    „to children that predictably materialized into additional incidents of“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, Executive Summary. Original
  2. According to the report the responses of some bishops were characterised by moral laxity, excessive leniency, insensitivity, secrecy and neglect. They transferred abusers to new parishes or dioceses without informing others of their histories, did not report crimes to police and treated victims as adversaries and threats to the Church. One bishop reported that a diocesan attorney had reprimanded him for speaking to victims and saying he was sorry.
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, IV. Findings
    „forthrightly and firmly. Their responses were characterized by moral laxity,“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, IV. Findings. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, IV. Findings
    „risk; (iii) transferring offending priests to new parishes or other dioceses“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, IV. Findings. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, IV. Findings
    „treated victims of clerical sexual abuse as adversaries and threats to“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, IV. Findings. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, IV. Findings
    „that he had been reprimanded by a diocesan attorney for speaking to victims“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, IV. Findings. Original
  3. The "Five Principles" adopted by the bishops' conference in 1992, including the duty to report to the authorities, were not binding on the bishops; only about half of all dioceses introduced a sexual abuse policy at that time. One bishop told the board that some colleagues went home and decided to proceed with business as usual. The report calls this foot-dragging inexcusable, with disastrous consequences.
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, III. Historical Context
    „binding on any of the bishops, and only about half of all dioceses implemented“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, III. Historical Context. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, III. Historical Context
    „that their colleagues were wrong, that they could proceed with business“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, III. Historical Context. Original
    Evidence: National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, III. Historical Context
    „This foot-dragging was inexcusable and, as we know now, had disastrous“
    A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, III. Historical Context. Original

See also

Original documents to read

  1. Church document
    National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People, Robert S. Bennett et al., United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: A Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States, 27 February 2004. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
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Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.