In 2021, the church conducted 1,964,656 background checks on clergy, employees and volunteers. In addition, over 2 million adults and over 2.4 million children and youth were trained in how to identify the warning signs of abuse and how to report those signs.
The Diocese of Trier, Germany, released a summary of a report involving abuse allegations against Father Kentenich, the founder of the Schonstatt movement, whose sainthood cause was suspended after accusations against him came to light.
The landmark document, adopted 20 years ago during a widely watched U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops assembly in Dallas, established minimum standards for dioceses and eparchies to follow in response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal that exploded in 2002.
German public broadcaster has reported that a victim of sexual abuse is suing the retired pontiff, saying he approved the appointment of a known abuser as pastor in a Bavarian parish some 40 years ago.
The 20th anniversary of the U.S. bishops’ passage of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” is “not a time of celebration, but a time of continued vigilance and determination,” said the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Bishop Donald Kettler will hold listening sessions following an allegation of past sexual misconduct involving Father Arthur Hoppe, who served in active ministry in the Diocese of St. Cloud from 1947 to 1999, according to a news release from the diocese May 11.
Amending a written statement made to a panel investigating clerical sexual abuse in his former Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, retired Pope Benedict XVI said he was present at a 1980 meeting to discuss the transfer of a priest accused of misconduct.
The essay by McChesney, the first person to head the U.S. bishops’ Office for Child and Youth Protection, was published Jan. 5 by America Media, one day before the 20th anniversary of the first in a series of Boston Globe reports on clergy sex abuse and cover-up.
