Class Action Alleges Holy See Secrecy Policy Allowed Child Sexual Abuse to Flourish in Catholic Church

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The Holy See faces a proposed class action that alleges an age-old policy of secrecy and concealment within the Catholic Church has allowed child sexual abuse by clergy to run rampant for decades, if not longer. 

The 22-page lawsuit in New York’s Northern District alleges that the mandatory secrecy policy of the Holy See, the central governing body of the Catholic Church, is to blame for pervasive and systemic child sexual abuse, with perpetrators protected and victims silenced by bishops and dioceses. 

The five plaintiffs, each a victim of clergy sexual abuse, bring their claims under the New York Child Victims Act, and allege the Holy See “created a foreseeable risk of clergy sexual abuse” in the United States. 

According to the complaint, the Holy See, overseen by the Papacy, has known for centuries that Catholic priests were using their positions in parishes and schools to sexually molest children. Despite formal legislations from the church against clerical sexual abuse dating back centuries, the problem has nevertheless been allowed to continue through the present day under a policy of secrecy and penalty of immediate removal from the church of all those involved in any way with complaints of sexual abuse, the lawsuit relays. 

This policy of secrecy amounts to the Holy See “condon[ing] and enable[ing]” child sex abuse by Catholic clergy, the case says. 

The lawsuit’s August 13 filing came a day before the deadline by which claims can be filed under the New York Child Victims Act, which established a two-year window from August 14, 2019 in which childhood sexual abuse victims and survivors could seek compensation for their damages. 

The lawsuit contends that although the Archdiocese of New York launched its Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) in 2016 to investigate claims of childhood sexual abuse by clergy and make settlement offers to victims, the Diocese’s true goal of the program was to “obtain releases from victims of clergy sexual abuse preventing them from bringing their claims in court.” By and large, the Diocese’s settlement programs were successful in securing releases from clergy sexual abuse victims, as at least 1,300 individuals have executed a release and received in exchange approximately $250 million for their claims, the suit says.

According to the proposed class action, however, given the purpose and intent of the settlement programs, those who have settled their claims have received “only a small fraction of the damages to which they would have been entitled in a court of law.” 

“Upon information and belief, the releases executed by each of the Plaintiff [sic] and members of the Class do not release the Defendant Holy See,” the complaint alleges. 

The lawsuit looks to represent victims/survivors of childhood sexual abuse by Catholic clergy serving in the state of New York, in the territories of the Archdiocese of New York, Diocese of Brooklyn, Diocese of Rockville Centre, Diocese of Albany, Diocese of Rochester, Diocese of Syracuse, Diocese of Buffalo and Diocese of Ogdensburg, whose claims fall within the scope of the New York Child Victims Act. 

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