Reports on Clergy Sex Abuse
Media reports on clergy sex abuse cluster in time-specific periods primarily in the regions and countries where the abused and their supporters speak out. Academic analyses and government reports on the problem take a wider look at the problem, but they too focus on the region or country where the sponsoring organization (or legal authority) rests.
On this page, we post links to the PDFs of academic and government reports, regardless of origin point. We hope eventually to include links to all the significant academic/government reports here, so that “aging links” on Internet pages do not frustrate those seeking such information. If you know of a report that is not listed here, please send the report (and its link) to office@votf.org. Note that we are happy to post links to reports in non-English languages as well if an English translation is not available.
Another excellent resource for files and case histories related to clergy sexual abuse is bishopaccountability.org.
United States
Commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the two studies conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice sought to provide data on the number of clergy abusers and their victims (“Nature and Scope”) and then to assess the reasons and setting for the abuse (“Causes and Context”).
The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States 1950-2002 (published 2004)
The Nature and Scope Supplementary Data Analysis 2006 (published 2002)
The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States, 1950-2010 (published 2011)
VOTF Commentary and Analysis on the Causes and Context Study (October 2011)
Also of interest: VOTF response to The Causes and Context report
Reports from State Attorneys General and Grand Juries:
- Altoona-Johnstown Diocese PA
- Boston MA
- Bridgeport CT
- Manchester NH
- Philadelphia PA
- Kansas City MO
- St. Paul MN
- Suffolk County NY
- Internal audits
Altoona-Johnstown Diocese
Report of the Thirty-Seventh Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (published 2016)
Boston
The Sexual Abuse of Children in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston: A Report by the Attorney General (published 2003)
Manchester NH
Attorney General Investigative Report
Audit Agreement by Manchester Diocese to Avoid Criminal Prosecution
- “WHEREAS, in light of the documents produced, the testimony obtained, and the nature of the elements which are required to be proved to establish a criminal violation of the New Hampshire child endangerment statute, RSA 639:3, I, the Diocese acknowledges that the State has evidence likely to sustain a conviction of a charge under RSA 639:3, I, against the Diocese.”
Link to 2006 Assessment, Appendices, and Exhibits (includes data from the 2002 Agreement)
Compliance Report Advisory Jan 2008
Compliance Report December 2008
Philadelphia PA
Grand Jury Report (2003)
Grand Jury Report (2011)
Kansas City MO
Investigation of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
Indictment of Bishop Finn and Diocese
St. Paul MN
Report and Recommendations to Protect Children from Clergy Sex Abuse, by the Safe Environment and Minsterial Standards Task Force, submitted March 31, 2014
Suffolk County NY
Special Grand Jury Report Report (published 2003)
- “The Grand Jury concludes that officials in the Diocese failed in their responsibility to protect children. They ignored credible complaints about the sexually abusive behaviors of priests. They failed to act on obvious warning signs of sexual abuse including instances where they were aware that priests had children in their private rooms in the rectory overnight, that priests were drinking alcohol with underage children and exposing them to pornography. Even where a priest disclosed sexually abusive behavior with children officials failed to act to remove him from ministry.” (page 172)
Internal Audits
- Capuchin Province of St. Joseph (U.S.), June 2013
Ireland
Murphy Report, published shortly after the Ryan Report, was an investigation into clergy sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin.
Both reports are lengthy and have been published in multiple PDFs as a result. Both also include numerous recommendations for addressing the abuses.
Ryan Report is the name commonly attached to an investigation conducted by Ireland’s Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse on the abuses committed in Church-run orphanages and industrial schools.
MURPHY REPORT Contents
RYAN REPORT Contents
The Netherlands
Summary of Report by Commission of Inquiry (published December 2011) [Note that first page in the Summary has a single word on it; text begins on page 2.]
Scotland
McLellan Commission Report, published August 2015, covers the child safeguard policies, procedures, and practices of Church in Scotland. It finds the same problems of cover-ups and secrecy. Despite good rules, the report notes, those standards mostly have been ignored. The report was commissioned by the Bishops’ Conference in Scotland.
Australia
In 2017, researchers Desmond Cahill and Peter Wilkinson, under the auspices of Australia’s RMIT University, completed a comprehensive report, Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: An Interpretive Review of the Literature and Public Inquiry Reports, based on 26 key international and Australian inquiries. Earlier reports detail investigations of specific dioceses in Australia and the abuse reports there, as well as a summary of their Towards Healing investigations.