Information about the protection of children in the Archdiocese of Washington -- click here 

The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University is an excellent resource for, among other things, analysis of the data about the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy in the United States. Nineteen Sixty-four is Cara’s research blog.

CARA has concluded that there is a clear historical pattern to this abuse. From its website: “Whether in Boston in 2002, Pennsylvania in 2018, or McCarrick, the same pattern emerges. Clergy born in the 1930s, ordained in the 1960s accused of abuse during the 1960s to the 1980s. News about allegations is new but incidence of abuse today is rare. Cases in the news fit historical pattern.”

In short, the Catholic Church’s reforms for the protection of children in the United States in recent decades have been very effective, though there is always room for improvement. For more analysis click here.