The following is a library of basic resources about the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic church, and particularly about the role that the bishops have played. The staff at BishopAccountability.org is making major additions to this list, so that noteworthy documents are readily available in a single convenient place. Please email us at staff@bishop-accountability.org to suggest additions. Last updated 7/15/05.

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Reports of Attorneys General, Grand Juries, Individuals, Commissions, and Organizations

Reports of Grand Juries and Attorneys General

1) New York NY - Westchester County Grand Jury Report, June 19, 2002
2) Rockville Centre NY - Suffolk County Grand Jury Report, February 10, 2003
3) Manchester NH - Attorney General’s Report and Agreement, March 3, 2003. Report is also available in easy-to-download sections: 1. Table of Contents; 2. Overview and Legal Analysis; Essays on selected priests: 3. Paul Aube; 4. Albert Boulanger; 5. Gerald R. Chalifour; 6. Robert Densmore; 7. Roger Fortier; 8. Raymond Laferriere; 9. Leo Landry; 10. Gordon MacRae. See also our hypertext version of the MacRae chapter, with links to over 100 MacRae documents.
4) Boston MA - Reilly Report and Executive Summary, July 23, 2003
5) Portland ME - Attorney General’s Report, February 24, 2004. See also the attorney general's investigative materials released on May 27, 2005 and July 8, 2005.
6) Philadelphia PA - Grand Jury Report, September 15, 2005

Reports of Individuals, Commissions, and Organizations

* Conrad Baars, The Role of the Church in the Causation, Treatment and Prevention of the Crisis in the Priesthood (1971)
* Mouton, Doyle, and Peterson, The Problem of Sexual Molestation by Roman Catholic Clergy {1}{2}{3}{4}
* Barbara Susan Balboni, Through the "Lens" of the Organizational Culture Perspective: A Descriptive Study of American Catholic Bishops’ Understanding of Clergy Sexual Molestation and Abuse of Children and Adolescents, September 1998
* England and Wales - Nolan Report
* Boston MA - Reilly Report and Executive Summary, July 23, 2003
* Boston MA - Archdiocesan Delegate's Annual Reports on sexual abuse, secret until Attorney General Reilly discovered them during his investigation - 1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1999-2000, 2001.
* Manchester NH - Manchester Diocesan Task Force Report.
* The Holy See and the Convention on the Rights of the Child: A Shadow Report, and Executive Summary, Catholics for a Free Choice, September 2002
* A Survey of Roman Catholic Priests in the United States and Puerto Rico, conducted by the LA Times Poll (6/27-10/11/02)
* Report of the Erwin Committee, commissioned by Roger L. Schwietz, archbishop of Anchorage AK
* Ferns Report from Ireland, October 2005

Timeline of Documents and Commentary

This is the latest installment of our timeline, which provides a national list of key events in the crisis, with news stories on each event and a running commentary drawn from the full range of opinion. For the first time anywhere, a geographically diverse selection of writings by survivors will be available, and traditional and progressive viewpoints will be represented on the same site. Please help us to make this a truly national and diverse selection by emailing us to suggest documents and events we should include. Our log begins with Conrad Baars's groundbreaking 1971 essay to the bishops, but the crisis long antedates his perceptive analysis. Last updated 1/26/05.

1970s

* Conrad Baars, The Role of the Church in the Causation, Treatment and Prevention of the Crisis in the Priesthood (1971)

1980s

* Jason Berry, The Tragedy of Gilbert Gauthe {Part I} {Part II} (5/23/85 and 5/30/85)
* Jason Berry, The Other Trial (10/10/85)
* Jason Berry, Anatomy of a Cover-Up (1/30/86)
* Jonathan Friendly, Roman Catholic Church Discusses Abuse of Children by Priests (5/4/86)

1990s

* Peter Steinfels, Inquiry in Chicago Breaks Silence on Sex Abuse by Catholic Priests (2/24/92)
* Andrew M. Greeley, Priestly Silence on Pedophilia (3/13/92)
* May 6, 1992 - Frank Fitzpatrick Goes Public about the Abuses of James R. Porter (see the Globe's collection of stories on Porter)
* Canice Connors, Priests and Pedophilia: A Silence That Needs Breaking? (5/9/92)
* Commonweal Editorial, Priests & Sex (11/20/92)
* December 3, 1992 - Bishop Seán O'Malley of Fall River MA Settles the Porter Cases (see the Globe's collection of stories on Porter)
* Andrew M. Greeley, How Serious Is the Problem of Sexual Abuse by Clergy? (3/20/93)
* Rev. Philip J. Murnion, Regarding A. Greeley's Data on Sexual Abuse by Priests (4/17/93)
* Andrew M. Greeley and Pev. Philip J. Murnion, A Greeley Response and Fr. Murnion Replies (5/15/1993)
* National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Restoring Trust (November 1994).
* National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Restoring Trust (November 1995).

January 2002

* January 6-7, 2002 - Current phase of the crisis begins with Geoghan revelations in Boston Globe (see story Part 1 and 2)
* James Carroll, Priests' Victims Victimized Twice (1/8/02)
* Boston Globe Editorial, A Shepherd and His Flock (1/9/02)
* Cardinal Bernard Law, Apology for Geoghan abuse, with Q&A (1/9/02)
* Cardinal Bernard Law, Letter to Archdiocese (1/26/02)
* January 31, 2002 - Crisis builds with additional Boston revelations and Shanley article
* Arthur Austin, An Invocation--To Paul Shanley, My Abuser (1/31/02)

February 2002

* Roger J. Landry, Answering Scandal with Personal Holiness (2/3/02)
* David Mehegan, How Many? How Long? (2/3/02)
* Mary Jo Bane, A Challenge to Lay Catholics (2/3/02)
* Rod Dreher, Sins of the Fathers (2/11/02)
* Eileen McNamara, A Justified Sentence? (2/24/02)
* Benedict J. Groeschel, Wages of Relativism (2/28/02)
* Rod Dreher, Unholy Mess (2/28/02)

March 2002

* Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Interview on the Crisis and Homosexuality (3/2/02)
* Philip Jenkins, The Myth of the Pedophile Priest (3/3/02)
* Joe Fitzgerald, Priest Fears Gays in Ranks Pose Threat to Church (3/6/02)
* Andrew Sullivan, The Church's Gay Scapegoating (3/6/02)
* Rod Dreher, Battle Lines Are Drawn (3/6/02)
* Andrew Sullivan, Gay Priests Etc. (3/7/02)
* Florida Bishops, Statement on Concern and Compassion for Victims of Sexual Abuse (3/7/02)
* March 8, 2002 - Bishop O'Connell of Palm Beach FL admits abuse and resigns (see predecessor Symons also resigned for abuse, O'Connell's admission, resignation)
* Mary Jo Malone, Forgive Me Father, But It Is You Who Sinned (3/12/02)
* William F. Buckley, Jr., The Writhings of Bishop O'Connell: The Pope Must Rue Those Who Corrupt the Young (3/12/02)
* Andrew Sullivan, Rod Dreher's Gay Problem (3/13/02)
* Rod Dreher, Andrew Sullivan's Gay Problem and Mine (3/13/02)
* Andrew Sullivan, Sparing Rod (3/14/02)
* Chuck Colbert, Leaders of Catholic Church Must Listen to All the Faithful (3/17/02)
* David F. D'Alessandro, Church Can't Heal with Law at the Helm (3/19/02)
* Pope John Paul II, Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2002 (3/21/02)
* Peggy Noonan, The Pope's First Statement (3/22/02)
* Rod Dreher, Mitred in the Mob? (3/28/02)
* Arthur Austin, Good Friday Speech (3/29/02)
* Mark Shea, Dark Hour (3/29/02)

April 2002

* William F. Buckley, Can the Church Survive? (4/1/02)
* David France, Confessions of a Fallen Priest (4/1/02)
* Jason Berry, Secrets, Celibacy and the Church (4/3/02)
* April 8, 2002 - Shanley documents are released (see Boston Globe report and analysis, and a selection of the Shanley documents)
* Arthur Austin, Statement at Boston Press Conference about Shanley Documents (4/08/02)
* George Weigel, From Scandal to Reform (Part 1) (4/10/02)
* Boston Priests' Forum, A Forum for Reflection and Study for Priests (4/11/02)
* Cardinal Bernard Law, Letter to Boston Priests (4/12/02)
* George Weigel, From Scandal to Reform (Part 2): The Imperative of Orthodoxy (4/17/02)
* David Zizik, A Proposal to Bring Laity, Parish Priests, and Archdiocesan Leadership Together (4/20/02)
* Rod Dreher, The Gay Question (4/22/02)
* April 23-24, 2002 - U.S. Cardinals summoned to meet with Pope (see reports on start and finish)
* Pope John Paul II, Speech to U.S. Cardinals (4/23/02)
* Vatican Officials, Statement at End of U.S. Cardinals' Visit (4/24/02)
* U.S. Cardinals, Letter to Priests (4/24/02)
* George Weigel, From Scandal to Reform (Part 3): The Apostles We Need (4/24/02)
* Bishop Walter Edyvean, Fax to Boston Pastors about Zizik Proposal (4/25/02)

May 2002

* George Weigel, From Scandal to Reform (Part 4): Above All, Holiness (5/1/02)
* James Carroll, Democracy in the Catholic Church (5/14/02)
* Gary Wills, Scandal (5/23/02)
* May 23-24, 2002 - Cardinal Weakland asks the Vatican to speed his retirement, and the Pope agrees (see media account, Weakland's apology, his 1980 letter to his lover with facsimile of first page, and their 1998 settlement agreement)
* Rod Dreher, Weakland's Exit (5/24/02)
* Eileen McNamara, Playing Favorites (5/26/02)

June 2002

* Arthur Austin, Survivor's Lullaby (6/4/02)
* June 12-14, 2002 - US bishops meet in Dallas to vote on Charter & Norms
* Craig Martin, Statement at Dallas USCCB Meeting (6/13/02)
* Paula Gonzales Rohrbacher, Impact Statement at Dallas USCCB Meeting (6/13/02)
* Michael Bland, Impact Statement at Dallas USCCB Meeting (6/13/02)
* David Clohessy, Impact Statement at Dallas USCCB Meeting (6/13/02)
* Mary Gail Frawley-O'Dea, The Experience of the Victim of Sexual Abuse: A Reflection (6/13/02)
* Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, The Present Crisis through the Lens of the Laity (6/13/02)
* Scott Appleby, The Church at Risk (6/13/02)
* US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People - (6/14/02)
* US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Essential Norms for Diocesan/ Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests, Deacons, and Other Church Personnel - (6/14/02)
* Frank Keating, Trying to Restore a Faith (6/15/02)
* Thomas Doyle, Reaction to the Charter (6/16/02)
* Mary Eberstadt, The Elephant in the Sacristy (6/17/02)
* June 19, 2002 - Report of the Westchester County NY grand jury (Text of Report)
* Raymond A. Schroth, Humility and Responsibility: Bishops Can't Exempt Themselves from Tough Line Applied to Priests (6/23/02)

July 2002

* Joan Chittister, The Faith Will Survive (7/1/02)
* July 10, 2002 - Bill is Approved by CA Governor Allowing Victims of abuse in Otherwise Lapsed Cases to File Civil Suit during 2003 against Their Alleged Perpetrators' Employers (See the text of the bill, the CA bishops' response (read in all CA parish pulpits), and two other perspectives {1}{2})
* Rick Santorum, Fishers of Men (12/12/02)
* July 20, 2002 - Voice of the Faithful holds convention in Boston
* Phil Saviano, What Took You So Long? (7/20/02)
* James E. Post, Voice of the Faithful: The Road Ahead (7/20/02)
* Mubarak Dahir, The Dangerous Lives of Gay Priests (7/23/02)
* Editorial in The Pilot, At a Crossroads (7/26/02)
* Chester Gillis, Cultures, Codes and Publics (7/29/02)

August 2002

* Rod Dreher, The Pope Has Let Us Down (8/25/02)
* Arthur Austin, A Psalm: Concerning Those Abused by Priests (8/27/02)
* Jack Sullivan and Eric Convey, Land Rich {1} {2} with a table of land owned by the Boston archdiocese (also sorted in descending order of assessment value), a Boston Herald editorial, and a reply to this analysis printed in the Pilot, the archdiocesan weekly newspaper. (8/27/02)
* Thomas Doyle, The Catholic Faithful Have to Speak Out (8/29/02)

September 2002

* Paul Wilkes, The Reformer: A Priest's Battle for a More Open Church (9/2/02)
* Jimmy Breslin, An Appeal to the Bishop (9/15/02)
* Mona H. Villarrubia, Forgive and Forget? (9/16/02)
* Rev. Paul T. Keyes and Bishop Emilio S. Allue, Exchange of Letters on Partial Ban of VOTF in Boston (9/25/02)
* Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, Yes, Gay Men Should Be Ordained (9/30/02)
* Rev. Andrew R. Baker, Ordination and Same Sex Attraction (9/30/02)
* John Allen, Interview with Fr. Andrew R. Baker (9/27/02)
* Bishop Donald W. Wuerl, Seminary Visitation (9/30/02)

October 2002

* Archbishop John J. Myers, A Voice Not Rooted in Faith (10/9/02)
* Maureen Orth, Unholy Communion (August 2002). If you have a dial-up connection, "Unholy Communion" is available in two easier-to-download parts {1 and 2}.
* Mark Furnish, You Are Not Alone (10/12/02)
* Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re and Bishop Wilton Gregory, Exchange of Letters about Vatican reaction to the Dallas Norms (10/14-15/02)
* Margery Eagan, One Survivor Tells a Tale of Triumph (10/17/02)
* Thomas Doyle, Some Thoughts on the Vatican's Decision on the U.S. Norms 10/29/02

November 2002

* Thomas Doyle, The Latest Revisions to the 'Charter and Norms' (11/5/02)
* November 11-13, 2002 - U.S. bishops meet in Washington DC
* Bishop Wilton Gregory, Remarks (11/11/02)
* U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Final Norms (approved by the USCCB at their November 2002 meeting, and approved by the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops on 12/8/02)
* U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Final Charter (approved by the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops on 12/8/02)
* USA Today, The Accused (11/11/02)
* America, Ordaining Gay Men (11/11/02)
* Rod Dreher, Back to Meeting (11/12/02)
* Ray Schroth, A New Future for the Church (11/14/02)

December 2002

* December 3, 2002 - Documents on more Boston priests are released (see priest transfer chart and articles on the documents, Meffan, Burns, Forry, and Bishop D'Arcy, who alone objected to reassigning abusive priests)
* 58 Boston Priests, Letter Asking Cardinal Law to Resign (12/9/02)
* December 13, 2002 - Pope accepts resignation of Cardinal Law (see article)
* Boston Priests' Forum, Statement on Cardinal Law's Resignation (12/13/02)
* Edward Vacek, 'Acting More Humanely': Accepting Gays into the Priesthood (12/16/02)

See our Year in Review: Important Events of 2003

January 2003

* Bill Gately, Be Careful What You Wish For (1/03)
* Mary Papenfuss, Devout and Defiled (1/9/03)
* Laurie Goodstein, Trail of Pain in Church Crisis Leads to Nearly Every Diocese, with table and charts of survey results (1/12/03)
* Paul Likoudis, Study of Church Scandal Overlooks a Key Issue (1/23/03)

February 2003

* Andrew M. Greeley, The Times and Sexual Abuse by Priests (2/10/03)
* February 10, 2003 - Report of the Suffolk County NY grand jury (See the report text, Newsday's useful key to the priests, and media reports, including reactions of survivors.)
* NCR Editorial, Greeley Aims at the Wrong Target (2/21/03)
* A.W. Richard Sipe, View from the Eye of the Storm (2/23/03)

March 2003

* March 3, 2003 - Report of the New Hampshire Attorney General (See the report and its archive, media coverage)

April 2003

* Steve Lopez, During Holy Week at the Cathedral, a Man's Lonely Vigil (4/18/03)
* Anonymous, Made in God's Image: A Homosexual Priest Speaks Out (4/11/03)

May 2003

* Priests Federation of Altoona Johnstown, Press Release (5/15/03)

June 2003

* June 2, 2003 - Agreement Announced between Bishop O'Brien of Phoenix and County Attorney Romley (See text of the agreement, with O'Brien's and Romley's interpretations of it, and a report on the deal)
* June 10, 2003 - Louisville Settlement (See an account of the settlement and Archbishop Kelly's statement)
* Steve Lopez, It's a Sad Day in L.A. When a Stripper Beats a Cardinal on Morality (6/15/03)
* June 16, 2003 - Frank Keating Resigns after Comparing Some Bishops to La Cosa Nostra (See the original interview with Mahony's reply, and Keating's letter of resignation with press reports)
* June 18, 2003 - Bishop O'Brien Resigns after Arrest on Hit-and-Run Charges (See O'Brien's resignation statement and a report on the hit-and-run)
* Frank Keating, Finding Hope in My Faith (6/19/03)
* Raymond G. Helmick, S.J., Task for the Next Church Council (6/03)
* June 26, 2003 - Supreme Court's Stogner Decision Strikes Down CA's Statute of Limitations Law (See reports and commentary on the decision)
* Steve Lopez, Church's Victims Abused Again by High Court (6/27/03)

July 2003

* July 1, 2003 - Seán P. O'Malley Visits Boston after His Apppointment (See O'Malley's press conference during the Boston visit after his appointment)
* Patrick J. Schiltz, The Future of Sexual Abuse Litigation (7/7/03, version of a 11/4/02 speech to a meeting of bishops)
* Paul Mankowski, S.J., What Went Wrong (7/15/03)
* July 23, 2003 - Report of the Massachusetts Attorney General (See text of report and executive summary)
* July 30, 2003 - Seán P. O'Malley's Installation As Archbishop of Boston (See his homily and a report on the installation)
* Belinda Martinez, Speech in Eden Prairie (7/31/03)
* Marci Hamilton, The Boston Grand Jury Report on Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse: Why Its Conclusion That Criminal Charges Are Stale Is Wrong (7/31/03)

August 2003

* Peter Pollard, NH Catholics, Why Have You Forsaken Us? (8/1/03)
* August 1, 2003 - Bishop Thomas V. Daily's Resignation Is Accepted (See an account of the resignation)
* John L. Allen Jr., Explaining Crimen Sollicitationis (8/15/03)
* Patrick J. Schiltz, Not All the News Is Fit to Print: What's Missing in the Sexual-Abuse Story (8/15/03)
* 163 Diocesan and Order Priests in Milwaukee Archdiocese, Letter on Optional Celibacy for Priests (8/16/03)
* Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, Response to Milwaukee Priests (9/3/2003)
* Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, Response to Milwaukee Priests (9/4/2003)

September 2003

* September 9, 2003 - Boston Settlement (See the settlement Memorandum and Agreement, and an account of the deal)
* Peggy Noonan, What I Told the Bishops: Thoughts on the Crisis in the American Catholic Church (9/15/03)
* Anne Coughlin, Remarks at the Survivor Support March (9/21/03)
* Sr. Sally Butler, Talk at St. Hugh Parish Voice (9/22/03)

October 2003

* 52 Priests of Rockville Centre, Letter to Bishop William F. Murphy (10/1/03)
* Frank Keating, The Last Straw: Quitting the Bishops' Review Board (10/1/03)
* Marianne Barone Trent and Charles Bailey Jr., Mindset of Syracuse Diocese Allows Abuse Infection to Fester (10/23/03)

November 2003

* Fr. Thomas A. Frechette, Fr. Paul T. Lamb, Fr. Roger J. Landry, Pastoral Letter on VOTF (11/19/03)
* November 20, 2003 - Cincinnati Archdiocese found guilty of 5 counts of failure to report a crime (See the Agreement, media accounts {1}{2}, and Pilarczyk's statement )
* David O'Brien, Letter to Fr. Roger J. Landry (11/21/03)
* November 26, 2003 - Judge Orders Davenport Diocese to Turn Over Records from Last 50 Years (See accounts of the decision {1}{2}{3}{4} )

December 2003

* Bishop Raymond Burke, The Catholic Response to Scandal (12/6/03)
* 69 NY Priests, Letter to Cardinal Egan (12/12/03) [quoted excerpts]
* 23 Chicago-Area Priests, Open Letter to the Hierarchy Regarding the Pastoral Care of Gay and Lesbian Persons (12/19/03)
* Cardinal Francis George, Response to the Open Letter (12/19/03)
* December 31, 2003 - Hundreds File Civil Suits in CA before Window Closes (See reports {1}{2} on the rush to file, the text of the bill, the CA bishops' response (read in all CA parish pulpits), and two other perspectives {1}{2})

January 2004

* Andrew Greeley, Young Fogeys: Young Reactionaries, Aging Radicals -- The U.S. Catholic Church's Unusual Clerical Divide (1/04)
* Joseph E. Gallagher Jr., Plaintiffs Victimized by Terms of Church's Abuse Settlement (1/4/04)
* January 6, 2004 - USCCB Announces Results of Charter Compliance Audit (See links to the report and the audit press conference; see also early commentary {1}{2}{3}.

February 2004

* Marci A. Hamilton with Peter C. Kuzma, It Is Time for a Second Reformation (2/4/04)
* Catharine A. Henningsen, The Second Wave of Abuse: The Fate of Our Accused Priests (2/5/04)
* February 27, 2004 - National Review Board Releases Reports on the "Nature and Scope" and "Causes and Context" of the Crisis (See the Nature and Scope and Causes and Context reports, as well as coverage (with charts only available here on the Web) by the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the New York Times.

See also articles from 2006: 1, 2, 3.

Organizations

* Call to Action
* Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
* Coalition of Catholics & Survivors
* Dignity
* Freedom from Religion Foundation
* Justice for Priests & Deacons
* The Linkup
* National Federation of Priest Councils
* The National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood
* Nuns Against Priest Sexual Abuse (Monastery of Our Lady of Little Citeaux, Copperhill TN)
* Opus Bono Sacerdotii (Work for the Good of the Priesthood)
* Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and their feature on Secret Justice
* Roman Catholic Faithful (including their exposé [p. 21] of St. Sebastian's Angels; see also Catholic World News's account of RCF's discovery)
* Speak Truth to Power
* Survivor Connections
* Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, and the Web site of the SNAP chapter in Southern California
* United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the USCCB's abuse-related Web page
* Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), and see also VOTF's links to Web sites of their local affiliates, as well as two sites started in response to VOTF, Faithful Voice and Your Catholic Voice
* Voices of Outrage: Where's the Justice? and the RICO Campaign for Survivor Justice petition, requesting a U.S. RICO investigation of the Catholic church
* Worcester Voice