QUEZON CITY (PHILIPPINES)
GMA News Online [Quezon City, PH]
January 29, 2025
By Mariel Celine Serquina, GMA Integrated News
A US-based watchdog and research group on Wednesday launched an online database identifying 82 Catholic clergymen who have been accused of the sexual abuse of minors in cases relating to the Philippines.
BishopAccountability.org, which focuses on alleged sexual abuses within the Catholic Church, said that these cases, which date back decades, involve:
- Filipino priests accused of sexually abusing minors in the Philippines
- Filipino priests who served part of their priesthood in the Philippines but who are accused of sexually abusing minors while working in the US, and
- priests from other countries—specifically from the US, Ireland, and Australia—who served part of their priesthood in the Philippines.
Of the 82 clergymen, 34 (Filipino and foreign) were accused of child sexual abuse in the Philippines. The remaining 48 clergymen (Filipino and foreign) were accused of child sexual abuse in other countries like the US, Ireland, and Australia but have worked in the Philippines.
With the publishing of the database, Bishop Accountability co-director Anne Barrett Doyle hoped that a “vigorous public conversation” about child sexual abuse in religion would begin in the Philippines.
“We want victims to know that there are people in the Philippines who would give them vigorous support,” she said.
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The database’s entries were collated from available sources online, including news reports, court resolution, and Facebook posts.
Church establishes office
Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in the Philippines (CBCP) said an Office for the Safeguarding of Minors has been put up to take the issue of accountability “very seriously.”
“Every diocese is now required by Rome to establish its own Office for the Safeguarding of Minors and Vulnerable Adults and should have a point person who can formally receive complaints,” David said in a statement also released today.
He added that the Office for the Safeguarding of Minors is headed by Archbishop Florentino Lavarias.
David said the bishop or the religious superior is responsible for dealing with complaints of abuse against priests belonging to their diocese or religious congregation, and if the complainants feel there was no action, the papal nuncio will be informed.
“If alleged abuse case vs a cleric concerns minors and vulnerable adults, the bishop is required to keep Rome informed about it,” he said.
He added that CBCP had no direct authority to conduct investigations into abuse cases as Rome has the only direct disciplinary authority over individual bishops.
Doyle said although it is important to set up safeguarding offices, she still urged victims to go to law enforcement to seek justice. — BM, GMA Integrated News