Transparency as a means to rebuild trust within the Church: a case study in how Catholic dioceses and eparchies in the United States have responded to the clergy sex abuse crisis

Abstract

Abstract The United States comprises 197 dioceses and eparchies. With the sexual abuse crisis affecting every one of those dioceses in some way, the clarion call from the laity and media for transparency within the Church became deafening. In the midst of this crisis and the calls for more transparency, a central question arose: how transparent are U.S. dioceses about their handling of clergy sexual abuse? This led to further questions regarding how many dioceses have had a review of clergy files and released the names of clergy abusers; how many make it easy to report abuse; and how many have a complete online resource as their response. At the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) fall 2018 meeting, the chair of the National Review Board (NRB), Francesco Cesareo, Ph.D., offered five key recommendations to increase accountability and transparency. In light of these recommendations, FAITH Catholic researchers reviewed and analyzed what steps U.S. dioceses are taking to achieve transparency. We concluded by developing criteria to enable diocesan leaders to understand more clearly what U.S. dioceses are already doing, or not yet doing, related to implementing those recommendations.