Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents

Timeline

From the oldest documented event to the present. Each bar shows the period over which the established events extended, the golden dot marks the publication of the report, the red line is today. Persons are in the top row, their line runs from birth to death. Mouse wheel or dragging moves through time, Ctrl+mouse wheel (two fingers on a phone) zooms; the arrow keys and + / − work too. Pontificates appear in the background once the visible span is under 300 years.

As a table

PeriodDurationEntryCountry
301-19111610 years Simony: the buying and selling of spiritual offices and graces, from the 4th century to the Roman Curia Italy, Vatican City
380-3855 years Execution of Priscillian in 385, the first execution of Christians for heresy, on the accusation of bishops Germany, Spain
388-3891 year Callinicum 388: Christians burned down a synagogue at the instigation of their bishop, and Bishop Ambrose of Milan forced the emperor to drop rebuilding and punishment Syria
389-3912 years Alexandria around 391: at the instigation of Bishop Theophilus the temples were destroyed, the images of the gods melted down for the church, and the books of the Serapeum plundered Egypt
412-4153 years Alexandria 412 to 415: Bishop Cyril drove the Jews out of the city, and a Christian mob led by a reader of his church murdered the philosopher Hypatia Egypt
517-816299 years Serfs and slaves owned by churches and monasteries in the early Middle Ages Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom
517-58164 years Gallic and Frankish synods 517 to 581: bans on sharing meals and marriage with Jews, Easter curfew, exclusion from office France
576less than 1 year Clermont 576: after the synagogue was destroyed, Bishop Avitus gave the Jews the choice between baptism and expulsion France
590-60414 years Pope Gregory I (590 to 604): pagans in Sardinia were to be forced into conversion with crushing payments, blows, torments and confinement Italy
612-69482 years Visigothic kingdom 612 to 694: forced baptism, removal of children and enslavement of the Jews, decreed and confirmed at the Councils of Toledo France, Spain
750-1440690 years Donation of Constantine, a forged charter on papal rights of rule France, Italy, Vatican City
767-7692 years Rome 768/769: Antipope Constantine and his followers were blinded, and the Lateran Synod had the blind man beaten and thrown out Italy
823-8241 year Rome 823: two high papal officials were blinded and killed in the Lateran by servants of Pope Paschal I, and the pope shielded the murderers Italy
847-1628781 years Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals around 850: about a hundred forged papal letters, part of canon law for centuries France, Italy
848-87022 years Gottschalk of Orbais 848/849: condemned twice for his doctrine of predestination, flogged and imprisoned until his death Germany, France
897-9047 years Cadaver Synod of 897: Pope Stephen VI had his dead predecessor Formosus exhumed, put on trial and thrown into the Tiber Italy
903-9118 years Rome 903/904: Christopher threw Pope Leo V into prison, Sergius III overthrew both; according to the Britannica he had them strangled Italy
954-96410 years Pope John XII (955 to 964): elected at 18 on his father's orders, deposed, bloody revenge on opponents Italy
1018-108971 years Pavia 1018/1022 and Melfi 1089: children of clerics were declared unfree property of the Church, and priests' wives were to be enslaved Italy
1022less than 1 year Orléans 1022: a council condemned thirteen clerics and laymen as heretics, and King Robert had them burned alive France
1032-104816 years Benedict IX sold the papacy in 1045: installed as a youth, three times pope, three popes at once Italy
1095-1291196 years Crusades to the East Germany, France, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey
1139-1155about 16 years old Arnold of Brescia France, Italy, Switzerland
1145-1241about 96 years old Pope Gregory IX (Ugolino of Segni) Germany, France, Italy
1147-1410263 years Crusades in the Baltic 1147 to 1410: Popes grant crusader privileges for wars against Wends, Prussians, Livonians and Lithuanians; the bishop of Riga founds a military order to conquer the land Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland
1160-1216about 56 years old Pope Innocent III (Lotario de’ Conti) France, Italy
1180-1233about 53 years old Conrad of Marburg, papal persecutor of heretics in Germany Germany
1184-1699515 years Persecution of the Waldensians France, Italy, Spain
1199-1917718 years Prohibition and restriction of the Bible in the vernacular for lay people France, Spain, Vatican City
1204less than 1 year Sack of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade Turkey
1209-122920 years Albigensian Crusade France
1215-1592377 years Fourth Lateran Council: compulsory badge for Jews Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Vatican City, United Kingdom, Austria
17 Mar 1230-27 May 12344 years Crusade against the Stedingers 1232 to 1234, peasants on the Lower Weser declared heretics for refusing to pay dues Germany
1231-1542311 years The Inquisition: origins, procedure, punishments Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Vatican City
1233-12396 years Northern France 1233 to 1239: The inquisitor Robert le Bougre had people burned without judgment, about 180 in one day at Mont-Aimé Belgium, France
1233-1966733 years Book burnings and the Index of Forbidden Books France, Italy, Spain, Vatican City
1235-1303about 68 years old Pope Boniface VIII (Benedetto Caetani) France, Italy, Vatican City
1239-1559320 years Burnings of the Talmud 1239 to 1559: On papal orders Dominicans, Franciscans and the Inquisition seized Jewish books and burned them in public France, Italy
1249-1334about 85 years old Pope John XXII (Jacques d’Euse) France
1264-1314about 50 years old Pope Clement V (Bertrand de Got) France, Italy
1300-1562262 years Sale of indulgences, forgiveness of sins for money Germany, Vatican City, United Kingdom
1300-13077 years Parma and Vercelli 1300 to 1307: Crusade against the Apostolic Brethren; Segarelli burned, Margherita slowly burned, Dolcino torn apart with red-hot pincers Italy
1307-13147 years Arrest, torture and burning of the Templars France
1317-13203 years Avignon 1317: Under John XXII, Bishop Hugues Géraud was partially flayed alive and burned, and court clerics were convicted of sorcery under torture France
1317-13203 years Carcassonne 1317 to 1320: The Franciscan Bernard Délicieux, who had defended the victims of the Inquisition, was tortured and died in chains in prison France
1317-135033 years Marseille 1318: Four Franciscans were burned for refusing to obey the pope on habits and stores; afterwards stakes throughout southern France France
1318-1389about 71 years old Pope Urban VI (Bartolomeo Prignano) Italy
1337-13381 year Deggendorf 1337/38, murder of the Jewish community over an alleged desecration of the host and a pilgrimage lasting centuries Germany
1342-1394about 52 years old Robert of Geneva (Antipope Clement VII) France, Italy
1369-1415about 46 years old Jan Hus Czechia
1376-13771 year Cesena 1377: Cardinal legate Robert of Geneva had the inhabitants of the town cut down by mercenaries Italy
1378-139113 years The 1391 pogroms in Spain: years of inflammatory sermons by Archdeacon Ferrand Martínez, thousands of Jews murdered, survivors forcibly baptised Spain
1382-142846 years England 1382 to 1428: persecution of the Lollards, burnings of heretics, ban on the English Bible, Wyclif's bones dug up and burned United Kingdom
1385-1456about 71 years old John of Capistrano (Giovanni da Capistrano) Germany, Italy, Poland
1385-13861 year Nocera and Genoa 1385/86: Pope Urban VI had six cardinals imprisoned and tortured, five never came out again Italy
1389-147182 years Italy 1389 to 1471: Popes had the Fraticelli hunted, their villages razed, their children taken away and burned at Fabriano before Nicholas V Italy
1398-1416about 18 years old Jerome of Prague Germany, Czechia
1410-1419about 9 years old Antipope John XXIII (Baldassare Cossa) Germany, Italy
1411-14154 years Spain 1411 to 1415: mass conversions by Vicente Ferrer, exclusion law at his request, the forced Disputation of Tortosa and a papal bull against the Jews Spain
1412-1431about 19 years old Joan of Arc France
1414-1484about 70 years old Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco della Rovere) Italy, Vatican City
1420-143111 years Crusades against the Hussites 1420 to 1431: Pope Martin V called for the destruction of the "heretics" in Bohemia, and several crusading armies marched into Bohemia Germany, Czechia
1420-1498about 78 years old Tomás de Torquemada, Grand Inquisitor of Spain Spain
1430-1793363 years Witch hunts in Europe Germany, France, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, United Kingdom
1 Jan 1431-18 Aug 150372 years old Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) Italy, Spain, Vatican City
1432-1492about 60 years old Pope Innocent VIII (Giovanni Battista Cibo) Germany, Italy, Vatican City
1452-2023571 years Papal bulls on conquest and enslavement and the "Doctrine of Discovery" Bolivia, Portugal, Vatican City
21 Sep 1452-23 May 149845 years old Girolamo Savonarola Italy
1453less than 1 year Breslau 1453: Under the papal inquisitor John of Capistrano Jews were tortured, 41 burned in one day and their children forcibly baptised Poland
1468-1549about 81 years old Pope Paul III (Alessandro Farnese) Italy, Vatican City
1475-1521about 46 years old Pope Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici) Germany, Italy, Vatican City
23 Mar 1475-20 Jun 14783 years Ritual murder trial of Trent 1475, the Jewish community is tortured and executed after the death of the child Simon Italy
28 Jun 1476-18 Aug 155983 years old Pope Paul IV (Gian Pietro Carafa) Italy, Vatican City
1478-14802 years Florence 1478: Pazzi conspiracy with the pope's nephew, an archbishop and two priests; Giuliano de’ Medici stabbed to death during High Mass in the cathedral Italy
1478-1834356 years Spanish Inquisition Spain
10 Nov 1483-18 Feb 154662 years old Martin Luther Germany
1486-1860374 years Spain 1486 to 1860: statutes of "purity of blood" (limpieza de sangre) in religious orders, cathedral chapters and the Inquisition Spain
1487-1555about 68 years old Pope Julius III (Giovanni Maria del Monte) Italy, Vatican City
1499-1610111 years Spain 1499 to 1610: forced baptism, persecution and expulsion of the Moriscos Spain
1504-1572about 68 years old Pope Pius V (Michele Ghislieri) Italy, Vatican City
19 Apr 1506-21 Apr 15063 days Lisbon 1506: two Dominicans called for the extermination of "heretics", and more than 2,000 baptised Jews were murdered within 48 hours Portugal
1523-1536about 13 years old William Tyndale Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom
23 May 1536-31 Mar 1821284 years Portuguese Inquisition Brazil, India, Portugal
21 Jul 1542-7 Dec 1965423 years Roman Inquisition (Holy Office) Italy, Vatican City
1548-1600about 52 years old Giordano Bruno Italy
1555-1870315 years Ghetto of Rome in the Papal States Italy, Vatican City
1558-157618 years Bartolomé Carranza 1559 to 1576: The Inquisition held the Archbishop of Toledo prisoner for almost seventeen years without proving him guilty of heresy Italy, Spain
15 Feb 1564-8 Jan 164277 years old Galileo Galilei Italy
1566-15704 years Rome 1567 and 1570: The Inquisition under Pius V had the humanists Pietro Carnesecchi and Aonio Paleario executed Italy
1568-1644about 76 years old Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo Barberini) Italy, Vatican City
1569less than 1 year Bull "Hebraeorum gens" 1569, Pope Pius V expels the Jews from the Papal States Italy, Vatican City
1570-1630about 60 years old Friedrich Förner, Auxiliary Bishop of Bamberg Germany
1571-1776205 years Spanish Inquisition in the Americas (Mexico, Lima, Cartagena) Colombia, Mexico, Peru
24 Aug 1572-3 Oct 157241 days St Bartholomew's Day Massacre 1572 and the reaction in Rome France, Vatican City
1577-1847270 years Compulsory sermons for Jews, Gregory XIII obliges them in 1577 and 1584 to listen to conversion sermons Italy, Vatican City
1583-1631about 48 years old Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg, Prince-Bishop of Würzburg Germany
1601-1878277 years Castrati in the papal choir of the Sistine Chapel from 1601 Italy, Vatican City
1612-163119 years Witch persecution in the prince-bishoprics of Bamberg, Würzburg and Eichstätt 1612 to 1631: The worst persecutions in Europe took place in ecclesiastical principalities Germany
1731-17321 year Expulsion of the Salzburg Protestants 1731/32 by Prince-Archbishop Firmian Austria
1792-1878about 86 years old Pope Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti) Italy, Vatican City
1819-1969150 years Indian boarding schools USA 1819 to 1969: The Catholic Church ran 80 of the 417 federal boarding schools for assimilating Indigenous children; at least 973 children died in the system United States
1838less than 1 year Sale of 272 enslaved people by the Jesuits in Maryland United States
23 Jun 18581 day Mortara case 1858, a Jewish child is taken from his parents on the orders of the Inquisition Italy, Vatican City
1883-1999116 years Residential schools for Indigenous children in Canada Canada
1907-1988about 81 years old Heinrich Maria Janssen, Bishop of Hildesheim Germany
1907-196760 years Einsiedeln children's home 1907 to 1967: Ingenbohl sisters punished with beatings, withholding of food and dunking bedwetting children; study speaks of violence that was partly ritual in character Switzerland
1914-200086 years Abuse in Irish homes and industrial schools (Ryan Report) Ireland
1917-198164 years Scotland, Smyllum Park and Bellevue, children's homes of the Daughters of Charity 1917 to 1981 (Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry 2018) United Kingdom
1922-200381 years Crimen sollicitationis, secret instruction of the Holy Office on abuse cases involving clergy (1922, 1962) Vatican City
1922-199674 years Magdalen Laundries in Ireland (McAleese Report) Ireland
1922-199876 years Homes for unmarried mothers and their children in Ireland (Mother and Baby Homes) Ireland
1926-2017about 91 years old Emil Stehle, Adveniat director and bishop in Ecuador Germany, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay
1926-197852 years Bad Nauheim and Allerheiligen 1926 to 1978: In children's health homes of Caritas Mainz children were force-fed, punished and beaten; sexual violence is attributed to a resident priest Germany
1928-198355 years Western Australia 1920s to 1980s: In the Christian Brothers' homes boys had to do hard labour instead of learning; the order's leadership knew of abuse from 1919 and moved offenders Australia
1929-202293 years Catholic scouts DPSG 1929 to 2022: Study calls sexualised violence a widespread, structural problem; those in charge tended to protect perpetrators Germany
11 Feb 19291 day Lateran Treaties of 1929 between the Holy See and Mussolini's government Italy, Vatican City
1930-202393 years Diocese of Augsburg 1930 to 2023: Inquiry commission found 77 accused clergy; under Bishops Stimpfle and Dammertz the diocese reacted inappropriately in two thirds of cases Germany
1930-202191 years Iowa 1930 to 2021: Attorney General finds decades of abuse and extensive cover-up in the four Catholic dioceses United States
1932-201381 years Capuchin Province of St. Joseph 1932 to 2013: Independent auditors find 23 friars confirmed to have abused minors; at St. Lawrence Seminary boarding school no case was reported to the authorities before 1992 United States
1933-198451 years Scotland, children's homes of the Sisters of Nazareth 1933 to 1984 (Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry 2019) United Kingdom
20 Jul 19331 day Reich Concordat of 1933 between the Holy See and the German Reich Germany, Vatican City
1935-2022about 87 years old Edmund Dillinger, priest of the Diocese of Trier Germany
1939-202182 years Nebraska 1939 to 2021: The Attorney General found 258 victims and 57 accused; according to the report, church authorities placed the church's reputation above the protection of children United States
1939-198950 years Stolen newborns in Spain (niños robados) Spain
1939-19456 years Slovak State under the priest Jozef Tiso 1939 to 1945, disenfranchisement and deportation of the Jews Slovakia
1939-19456 years Forced labourers in Catholic institutions in the German Reich 1939-1945 Germany
1940-201676 years Altoona-Johnstown 1940 to 2016: Grand jury found at least 50 offenders and hundreds of victims; bishops returned offenders to ministry and kept a price chart for silence United States
1940-202383 years Archdiocese of Baltimore: 2023 report of the Maryland Attorney General on 156 abusers and more than 600 abused children United States
1940-200262 years Sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston (Attorney General's report 2003) United States
1940-197838 years Neerkol (Queensland) 1940 to 1978: In the Sisters of Mercy orphanage children were abused by priests, nuns and workers and cruelly punished; the diocese paid for the offending priest's defence Australia
1940-197434 years St. Joseph's Orphanage Burlington, Vermont, 1940 to 1974: State task force documents allegations of beatings, neglect and sexual abuse by nuns and priests; murder allegations could not be corroborated United States
1940-2019about 79 years old Winfried Pilz, priest of the Archdiocese of Cologne and president of the children's mission society Germany
1941-200261 years Archdiocese of Paderborn 1941 to 2002: Study found 210 accused and 489 victims; Archbishops Jaeger and Degenhardt put convicted priests back into pastoral work Germany
1941-201978 years Legionaries of Christ: abuse by the founder Marcial Maciel and other priests Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United States
1945-202580 years Diocese of Fulda 1945 to 2025: Inquiry commission found 37 accused clergy and 120 victims; diocesan leaders protected offenders and moved convicted priests to other dioceses Germany
1945-202277 years Sexualised violence in the Diocese of Mainz since 1945 (EVV study) Germany
1945-202075 years Sexual abuse by clerics in the Diocese of Münster (study by the University of Münster) Germany
1945-202378 years Diocese of Osnabrück and Archdiocese of Hamburg, University of Osnabrück study on sexualised violence since 1945 (2024) Germany
1945-202277 years Diocese of Passau, University of Passau study on sexual abuse and physical violence by clergy 1945 to 2022 Germany
1945-201974 years Diocese of Würzburg, expert report of 2025 commissioned by the Independent Commission for Reappraisal (1945-2019) Germany
1945-199045 years Collegium Josephinum Bad Münstereifel 1945 to 1990: Seven staff members, almost all priests, accused of sexual abuse; study speaks of a system of abuse of power Germany
1945-201267 years Netherlands 1945 to 2012: Deetman follow-up study on girls; serious abuse mostly by men of the Church, violence mainly by nuns in institutions Netherlands
1945-201065 years Sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Church in the Netherlands (Deetman Commission) Netherlands
1945-202580 years Franciscans in Germany since 1945: Study identifies almost 100 accused members of the order; no proceedings were ever initiated proactively, perpetrators were transferred and abused again Germany, Netherlands
1945-201974 years Sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising (expert report 2022) Germany
1945-202378 years Georgia 1945 to 2023: State prosecutors' council finds the Church relocated accused priests, often without warning the new diocese; most victims were brushed aside United States
1945-195611 years Child migration to Australia: Catholic agencies sent children from England to institutions of the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Nazareth (IICSA 2018) Australia, United Kingdom
1945-199045 years Catholic children's homes in Tyrol 1945 to 1990: According to a study violence was an everyday occurrence; at Martinsbühel forced labour, a priest had girls brought to him, a nun scalded a child Austria
1945-201974 years Missouri 1945 to 2019: The Attorney General found 163 instances of abuse by priests and deacons; for decades the church protected its priests instead of the victims United States
1945-199247 years Violence and sexual abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen (Weber Report) Germany
1946-198337 years Episcopal boarding school Albertinum Gerolstein 1946 to 1983: According to the final report violence was a central part of everyday life; all three priest directors accused Germany
1946-202377 years Diocese of Speyer 1946 to 2023: Study found 109 accused clergy; at the Engelsgasse children's home a former vicar general was among the main accused Germany
1946-201973 years Archdiocese of Berlin, expert report of 2021 on sexual abuse by clerics since 1946 Germany
1946-199044 years Jesuit college St. Blasien 1946 to 1990: Report by the order's commissioner lists more than 40 reports of sexual abuse and beatings at the boarding school; victims were ignored although the abuse was known Germany
1946-198943 years Mecklenburg 1946 to 1989: Abuse by Catholic clergy in East Germany; offenders were moved to the West, the Stasi recruited them as informers Germany
1946-201468 years Sexual abuse by Catholic clerics in Germany (MHG study) Germany
1946-200256 years Archdiocese of Philadelphia, grand jury report of 2005 on abuse by 63 priests and cover-up by Cardinals Krol and Bevilacqua United States
1947-19514 years Ratline via Rome: the priest Draganović and the escape of Klaus Barbie Argentina, Bolivia, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Austria
1948-199143 years Scotland, Benedictine schools Fort Augustus and Carlekemp 1948 to 1991 (Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry 2021) United Kingdom
1949-201465 years Maitland-Newcastle 1949 to 2014: A state commission found that bishops knew of a child abuser for decades and never reported him; a letter of 1976 speaks of a "cover-up" Australia
1950-201060 years Aloisiuskolleg Bonn-Bad Godesberg 1950 to 2010: 123 reports of abuse; in the case of one priest, according to the report, the order's leadership in Rome, the provincial and the college leadership acted in collusion Germany
1950-201060 years Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Belgium (parliamentary report 2011) Belgium
1950-201969 years Sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Colorado (Special Master's report 2019) United States
1950-202474 years Diocese of Lansing 1950 to 2024: Michigan Attorney General documents allegations against 56 clergy, including a bishop, after searching all seven dioceses United States
1950-202070 years Florida 1950 to 2020: State prosecutors identify 97 accused priests; Florida was a destination to which priests accused elsewhere were routinely relocated United States
1950-201969 years Sexual abuse by Catholic clerics in Illinois (Attorney General's report 2023) United States
1950-200252 years United States, John Jay Report of 2004 on sexual abuse by Catholic priests and deacons 1950 to 2002 United States
1950-200454 years Josefsheim Reitenbuch and Marienheim Baschenegg 1950 to 2004: House chaplains abused children in care, nuns inflicted severe physical violence Germany
1950-202272 years Sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in Kansas (Kansas Bureau of Investigation report 2023) United States
1950-201969 years L'Arche 1950 to 2019: Study commission documents sexual abuse by the Dominican Thomas Philippe and the founder Jean Vanier; a sectarian circle outlived the condemnation by the Holy Office in 1956 France, Canada
1950-198333 years Scotland, boarding schools of the Marist Brothers in Largs and Dumfries 1950 to 1983 (Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry 2021) United Kingdom
1950-202676 years Massachusetts 1950 to 2026: Attorney General counts more than 900 victims in the Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester; the dioceses actively covered up to protect the Church's reputation United States
1950-202676 years Michigan from 1950: The Attorney General had all seven dioceses searched in 2018; reports list 56 accused in Lansing, 51 in Grand Rapids, 44 in Marquette, 38 in Saginaw, 28 in Gaylord and 19 in Kalamazoo United States
1950-200454 years 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 United States
1950-199545 years Derry and Belfast 1950s to the 1990s: A state inquiry found systemic abuse in the homes of the Sisters of Nazareth, including sexual abuse by priests United Kingdom
1950-202272 years New Zealand 1950 to 2022: Allegations against 1,122 Catholic clergy and religious; the Church moved offenders, accused Brothers were sent to Papua New Guinea New Zealand
1950-202575 years Violence and abuse in church institutions in Austria (Klasnic Commission) Austria
1950-202272 years Sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church in Portugal (Independent Commission 2023) Portugal
1950-202676 years Rhode Island 1950 to 2026: Attorney General names 72 credibly accused clergy of the Diocese of Providence; files were destroyed after priests' deaths, bishops often knew United States
1950-198939 years Sexual abuse in Catholic institutions in Australia (Royal Commission) Australia
1950-198535 years Rubane House (Northern Ireland) 1950 to 1985: De La Salle Brothers beat and abused boys; the order did not report brothers who confessed, to protect its reputation United Kingdom
1950-202272 years Sexual abuse in the environment of the Catholic Church in Switzerland (pilot study, University of Zurich) Switzerland
1950-201060 years Kremsmünster Benedictine Abbey 1950 to 2010: Sexualised violence across generations; a former priest sentenced to 12 years in prison; study speaks of institutional narcissism Austria
1950-201363 years Victoria, Australia: parliamentary inquiry "Betrayal of Trust" into the handling of child abuse (2013) Australia
1950-202070 years Sexual violence in the Catholic Church in France 1950 to 2020 (CIASE Report) France
1951-199443 years Ireland, Northern Ireland, USA 1951 to 1994: Father Brendan Smyth abused children for over four decades; his order and dioceses did not report him, and a 14-year-old victim had to swear secrecy Ireland, United States, United Kingdom
1953-198330 years Scotland 1953 to 1983: At the Christian Brothers' St Ninian's home, according to the inquiry, sexual abuse was endemic throughout United Kingdom
1954-199743 years Melbourne 1954 to 1997: Royal Commission found a "culture of secrecy" under Archbishop Little; offenders' resignations were disguised as ill health and minutes concealed the abuse Australia
1955-199338 years New Zealand, Marylands School and Hebron Trust, abuse by the Brothers of St John of God (Royal Commission 2023) Australia, New Zealand
1957-198225 years Diocese of Hildesheim 1957 to 1982: According to an expert report Bishop Janssen and his vicar general covered up the acts of a priest wanted on an arrest warrant, who went on working in Paraguay under another name Germany
1957-199033 years Canisius-Kolleg Berlin and other Jesuit schools, abuse and beatings by priests (Raue Report 2010) Germany
1957-200245 years Long Island 1957 to 2002: A grand jury found that the Diocese of Rockville Centre used deception and intimidation to keep victims from legal action United States
1957-201356 years Franciscan Conventuals 1957 to 2013: In 1971 the order exerted massive influence on criminal proceedings against a boarding-school head in Bonn; parents were urged to withdraw the complaint Germany
1957-200447 years Bétharram 1957 to 2004: Some 250 complaints of violence at the Catholic school Notre-Dame de Bétharram; according to parliament, the congregation and the diocese contributed to the silence France
1957-201457 years Riaumont 1957 to 2014: According to parliament, children at a priest's children's village near Lens were beaten and indoctrinated for decades; later complaints of rape France
1957-197114 years Middletown 1957 to 1971: The director of the Catholic girls' school St Joseph's regularly beat the girls; the inquiry found this amounted to systemic physical abuse United Kingdom
1958-202163 years Sexualised violence by clergy in the Diocese of Essen (IPP study 2023) Germany
1958-200446 years Maine 1958 to 2004: The Diocese of Portland did not inform parishes about accused priests; according to the Attorney General this put children at risk United States
1958-201254 years Michigan 1958 to 2012: A priest was moved twice despite complaints of abuse of altar boys; a bishop suggested keeping him in place so the rumours would not be confirmed Vatican City, United States
1958-199032 years St. Josefsheim Ludwigsburg-Hoheneck 1958 to 1990: Study speaks of 30 years of massive abuse of power by Carmelite sisters; a nun and an educator brought girls to a parish priest Germany
1959-199031 years Children's convalescent homes of the Thuine Franciscan Sisters 1959 to 1990: Former children report beatings, censorship of letters and sexual violence; abuse by a chaplain was not reported in 1961 Germany
1960-200747 years Abbé Pierre 1960 to the 2000s: Emmaus publishes 33 testimonies of sexual violence by the priest and founder of the movement, including against minors France
1960-201252 years England, Benedictine schools of Ampleforth and Downside, abuse and cover-up (IICSA 2018) United Kingdom
1960-201757 years Ballarat 1960 to 2017: Royal Commission found a "catastrophic failure" of diocesan leadership; Bishop Mulkearns kept moving offenders, destroyed a report and put the Church's reputation above children Australia
1960-197919 years Belfast, Derry, Newry 1960s and 1970s: Girls of school age worked in the laundries of the Good Shepherd Sisters; a priest asked girls whether they were virgins United Kingdom
1960-199333 years Sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders in Ireland (Scoping Inquiry 2024) Ireland
1960-202363 years Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Spain (Ombudsman's report 2023) Spain
1961-201857 years Diocese of Trier 1961 to 2018: According to the investigation, priest Edmund Dillinger abused 19 people; the diocese covered up allegations and arranged his move to Cologne in 1971 Germany
1961-199635 years Australia 1961 to 1996: Marist Brothers Chute and Sutton abused pupils; superiors knew of admissions, made Chute a principal and disguised Sutton's file under a false name Australia
1962-201048 years Sexual abuse in six dioceses of Pennsylvania (grand jury report 2018) United States
1962-200341 years New Hampshire 1962 to 2003: The Diocese of Manchester acknowledged that the state likely had evidence to convict it of child endangerment United States
1962-200240 years Abuse and cover-up in the Diocese of Ferns (Ferns Report) Ireland
1964-202359 years South Tyrol 1964 to 2023: Report on the Diocese of Bozen-Brixen found 41 accused priests; one priest was merely moved for almost 50 years Italy
1964-198723 years St. Anthony's Seminary Santa Barbara 1964 to 1987: Independent board of inquiry finds that a quarter of the Franciscan friars on the faculty of the minor seminary abused students United States
1965-201954 years Sexual abuse by clerics in the Diocese of Aachen (WSW expert report 2020) Germany
1965-198621 years Diocese of Eichstätt 1965 to 1976: A priest wanted on an arrest warrant fled to Tanzania and Brazil; according to the commission the diocesan leadership concealed his whereabouts and kept paying his salary until the offences were time-barred Brazil, Germany, TZ
1965-199833 years Brothers of Charity Galway 1965 to 1998: Health board inquiry documents abuse allegations by children with intellectual disabilities against eleven brothers; in 1969 the provincial took an accused brother out of the country before police could question him Ireland, United Kingdom
1965-200540 years France: Victims' groups describe to parliament systematic violence and rapes at further Catholic schools such as Garaison, Dax and Neuilly France
1965-197712 years Mount Cashel orphanage: abuse by Christian Brothers and an arrangement with the justice system (Hughes Commission) Canada
1967-200134 years Diocese of Trier, University of Trier study on sexual abuse during the terms of office of Bishops Stein and Spital (1967-2001) Bolivia, Germany, Ukraine
1967-200134 years Brisbane 1967 to 2001: Abuse victim Joan Isaacs received 30,000 dollars after two years of negotiation and had to commit herself to silence Australia
1968-201244 years Ireland 1968 to 2012: The Church's child-safeguarding board found serial abusers at Spiritan schools; one abused 28 children and remained in ministry until 1996 Ireland
1970-202454 years Diocese of Brooklyn 1970 to 2024: New York Attorney General finds delayed proceedings, concealed reasons for resignations and unsupervised accused priests; diocese must appoint an external monitor United States
1970-201141 years Ealing Abbey and St Benedict's School 1970 to 2011: Inquiry report by Lord Carlile finds years of abuse of pupils by Benedictine monks and culpable failure by the monastic community United Kingdom
1970-201545 years England and Wales, state inquiry (IICSA) into abuse in the Catholic Church 1970 to 2015 United Kingdom
1970-201040 years Queensland 1970 to 2010: The Marist Brothers ignored complaints about two Brothers and withheld from abuse victims what they knew Australia
1970-200232 years Westchester County 1970 to 2002: First US grand jury on abuse by clergy finds that the Church reported no case to police, lied to victims and kept transferring abusers United States
1972-202250 years Archdiocese of Cologne 1972 to 2022: Carol-singers president Winfried Pilz was listed as an abuser from 2012; the archdiocese informed neither the Diocese of Dresden-Meissen nor the children's mission society Germany
1973-201239 years Ireland 1973 to 2012: A Dominican admitted abuse in 1973, the provincial left him in ministry; he abused further children Ireland
1974-200733 years Sydney 1974 to 2007: The archdiocese offered abuse victim John Ellis 30,000 dollars and denied the abuse in court in order to deter other victims from suing Australia
1974-201945 years Holy See 1974 to 2019: Reports, proceedings and decisions on abuse of minors by clergy were subject to the pontifical secret until Pope Francis lifted it for them in December 2019 Vatican City
1975-201136 years Raphoe and Derry 1975 to 2011: Church safeguarding review finds serious errors of judgement by successive bishops; accused priests were moved and continued to abuse Ireland, United Kingdom
1975-201843 years Handling of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Cologne (expert report 2021) Germany
1975-198914 years Abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland (Winter Commission) Canada
1975-201237 years Ireland 1975 to 2012: The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for years did not pass abuse allegations against 17 members to police and authorities, and in 2011 publicly claimed the opposite Ireland
1975-201338 years Ireland 1975 to 2013: Safeguarding reviews by the Church watchdog count allegations against 26 priests in Cork and Ross, 18 in Limerick and 21 in the Society of African Missions and document earlier transfers of accused priests Ireland, United Kingdom
1975-200429 years Abuse and cover-up in the Archdiocese of Dublin (Murphy Report) Ireland
1975-200227 years Peru, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, abuse by the founder and leadership, dissolved by the Vatican in 2025 Peru
1976-19771 year Christian von Wernich, police chaplain during the Argentine military dictatorship Argentina
1977-19825 years Italy 1977 to 1982: Parliamentary commission of inquiry into the P2 lodge finds that the Vatican bank IOR covertly provided money for the takeover of the Rizzoli publishing house and the Corriere della Sera and held shares through nominees Italy, Vatican City
1978-201436 years Cover-up of abuse in the Archdiocese of Freiburg (report of the File Analysis Working Group) Germany
1979-201738 years Armidale and Parramatta 1979 to 2017: A bishop moved a priest he believed a danger to children and passed him to another diocese without warning; the priest was convicted of 79 offences Australia
1980-200929 years Diocese of Hildesheim 1980 to 2009: According to an investigation report, Father Georg M. systematically abused boys; Bishop Homeyer moved him to a new parish despite knowing of the allegations Germany
1980-202646 years University of Notre Dame 1980 to 2026: Investigation report for the Board of Trustees finds that a priest of the order, as residence hall rector, had students weighed naked and sexually assaulted several; the university handed the 2018 complaint to the order United States
1981-201029 years Diocese of Hildesheim, the case of the priest "Anton P.", institutional failure 1981 to 2010 (IPP expert report 2017) Germany
1986-200418 years Adelaide 1986 to 2003: A Catholic special school hired a man with several sex-offence convictions as bus driver for intellectually disabled children without any check Australia
1988-199810 years Women religious 1988 to 1998: Confidential reports to the heads of religious orders in Rome document sexual exploitation and rape of sisters by priests and bishops in 23 countries Brazil, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Colombia, MW, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, TZ, UG, United States, ZM, ZW
1990-201828 years Sexual abuse by clerics in Poland (church survey 2019) Poland
1992-201927 years The case of Theodore McCarrick (Vatican report 2020) Vatican City, United States
1993-200916 years Cornwall (Ontario) 1993 to 2009: Diocese paid a victim who undertook not to pursue criminal proceedings and to keep silent; the bishop reinstated a charged priest "with joy" Canada
1993-200815 years Wollongong 1993 to 2008: An accused priest resisted his removal for twelve years; the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome ruled in his favour, and the supreme tribunal took five and a half years Australia, Vatican City
12 Apr 1994-16 Apr 19945 days Church of Nyange 1994: parish priest Athanase Seromba convicted of genocide Rwanda
17 Apr 1994-8 Jun 20017 years Rwanda 1994: massacres at the Benedictine convent of Sovu, two nuns convicted in Brussels in 2001 Belgium, Rwanda
1995-19972 years Pélussin 1995 to 1997: The priest director of a Catholic school was convicted of assaults on pupils; accused supervisors stayed in post, a teacher who raised the alarm was dismissed France
27 Mar 1995-27 Feb 19982 years The Groër case: abuse allegations against the Archbishop of Vienna Vatican City, Austria
1996-200913 years Cover-up in the Diocese of Cloyne and the attitude of the Vatican (Cloyne Report) Ireland, Vatican City
1996-201317 years Ireland 1996 to 2013: State audits found that dioceses reported 43 percent of allegations only after more than a year or never, and religious orders failed to report 88 percent promptly Ireland
1996-201418 years Melbourne from 1996: The Church's "Melbourne Response" compensation scheme capped payments to abuse victims at 50,000 dollars; victims were discouraged from going to the police Australia
1996-201115 years Philadelphia 2011: A second grand jury found that the archdiocese's personnel chief sent known offenders to parishes with schools and that dozens of suspects remained in ministry United States
1999-20067 years Archdiocese of Chicago 1999 to 2006: Despite warnings since seminary, an arrest and the recommendation of its own review board, Daniel McCormack remained in ministry; the archdiocese later received 104 abuse claims about him United States
2002-202220 years Diocese of Buffalo 2002 to 2022: New York Attorney General sues the diocese and its bishops; according to the complaint the diocese referred not a single priest to Rome for 15 years and listed abusers as "retired" United States
2004-201410 years Construction of the bishop's residence in Limburg for around 31.5 million euros Germany
2004-201511 years Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis 2004 to 2015: Prosecutors charge the archdiocese itself because, despite years of warnings, it made Curtis Wehmeyer a pastor, who then abused children United States
2004-201410 years United Nations 2014: Committee on the Rights of the Child accuses the Holy See of placing the Church's reputation and the protection of perpetrators above children's welfare; Committee against Torture cites 848 priests dismissed from the clerical state Vatican City
2006-202014 years Poland 2006 to 2020: Religious-order priest abused a girl for years, the order showed no concern for her; Supreme Court upheld one million złoty in damages Poland
2007-20103 years Toowoomba 2007/2008: A Catholic school did not report abuse allegations against a teacher to police; he continued abusing and was convicted of 44 offences against 13 girls Australia
2008-20157 years Dominican Republic 2008 to 2015: Papal nuncio Józef Wesołowski is dismissed from the clerical state for abusing minors and indicted in the Vatican; he dies before a verdict Dominican Republic, Vatican City
2010-20144 years Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph 2010 to 2014: Diocese withholds child images on a priest's laptop from police for five months; the priest receives 50 years in prison United States
2011-20198 years The Karadima case: conviction and dismissal from the clerical state Chile, Vatican City
2016-20226 years Poland 2022: State commission reported bishops for failure to report; prosecutors refused to investigate, the Vatican referred it to the dioceses Poland
2017-20214 years Poland 2021: State commission on paedophilia handled 100 cases with clergy as perpetrators; church courts handed over hardly any files Poland
2018-20191 year Archbishop Apuron of Agaña, Guam: Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith finds him guilty of sexual abuse of minors in 2018, appeal finally rejected in 2019 Guam, Vatican City
8 Apr 2018-31 May 201854 days Abuse and cover-up in the Church in Chile Chile
13 Jun 20201 day Diocese of Limburg, project "Listening to victims, preventing abuse" (2020), file analysis of 46 cases Germany

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