Editor’s note:This page was updated as America covered the sexual abuse crisis throughout the summer and fall of 2018​​​​​. Click here for the latest coverage on the ongoing sexual abuse crisis and the church’s response.

Allegations of clerical sexual abuse and its cover-up by church officials have rocked the U.S. Catholic Church this summer. On this page you will find a list of America’s reporting, analysis and reflections on the crisis in the church. 

Jump to: Reflections | Viganò Accusations |  The Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report | Archbishop Theodore McCarrick | Ongoing Response and Reform

Reflections


 

The Accusations of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò 

Late Saturday, Aug. 25, an 11-page letter attributed to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was published by the National Catholic Register, Life Site News and a number of other sites that report about the church. In it, the former Vatican ambassador to the United States under Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis makes a number of allegations about how Vatican and U.S. cardinals, as well as Pope Francis and previous popes, handled allegations of sexual misconduct against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. He also calls on Pope Francis to resign.

Asked about the letter during his press conference while returning to Rome from Ireland, Pope Francis confirmed that he had read it but refused to respond to it in detail, telling the journalists on the plane, “Read the statement carefully and make your own judgment. I will not say a single word on this.” He also said they had the “journalistic capacity” to draw their own conclusions and that once some time has passed, he may speak further in response.

Below is a complete list of America’s coverage of the letter, the claims it makes and the responses of those involved.

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The Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report 

On Aug. 14, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro presented a more than 800-page report detailing, in horrific detail, over seven decades of sexual abuse committed by priests against minors in six dioceses.

The report has sent shockwaves across the church in the United States, with some comparing the crisis to the fallout that came after the 2002 Boston Globe’s Spotlight report that detailed abuse and cover-up. Below is a summary of responses and analysis that have followed since the report was released.

Archbishop Theodore McCarrick

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarick, the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., was removed from ministry after an investigation in claims of sexual abuse against a minor were found credible by an investigation led by the Archdiocese of New York. Shortly after, other men alleged that they were also victims of sexual harassment and sexual abuse, including former seminarians. Below is our coverage of Archbishop McCarrick and the continuing fallout in Washington, D.C.

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Ongoing Response and Reform