U.S. Catholic bishops report that child abuse allegations against clergy have dropped by 32 percent across dioceses nationwide

After years of painful headlines and deep reflection, the Catholic Church in the U.S. is beginning to see a noticeable shift in the number of child abuse allegations — and it’s a change many hope continues.

A new report released this week shows that claims against clergy have dropped significantly over the past year.

A Sharp Drop in Allegations from the Previous Year

According to the 2024 annual report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), there’s been a 32% decline in reports of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in the United States.

The numbers show 902 new allegations from 855 survivors between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

That’s a major drop from the previous year, when 1,308 allegations were brought forward by 1,254 survivors.

Where the Numbers Come From

This annual report is no small effort — it pulls data from 195 dioceses and eparchies across the country.

The numbers were gathered by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and then analyzed through an audit conducted by StoneBridge Business Partners.

This kind of tracking has been part of the Church’s internal accountability system ever since the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People was created in 2002.

That charter laid out rules and procedures for how the Church should handle abuse allegations and work toward prevention.

Most Accused Clergy Are No Longer Alive

The audit revealed that 717 clerics were accused during this recent period — but more than half of them (54%) are already deceased.

That’s an important detail, showing that many of the allegations continue to stem from incidents that happened years, or even decades, ago.

Not Every Diocese Is Following the Rules

While the drop in new allegations is encouraging, the report also flagged areas of concern.

A few dioceses were found to be noncompliant with parts of the 2018 updated youth protection charter.

One example is the Diocese of Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Church in the USA, which failed to offer proper safe environment training and did not complete background checks on its volunteers.

Another was the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in Pennsylvania, which didn’t have a functioning review board in place during the audit period — a key component in handling allegations and ensuring transparency.

The Road Ahead for the Church

While the latest numbers show signs of progress, the Catholic Church in the U.S. still faces a long journey in restoring trust and ensuring every diocese is up to standard.

The annual report serves as a reminder that vigilance, transparency, and accountability remain critical.

As more survivors come forward and reforms continue to take root, the Church’s ability to protect the most vulnerable — and to reckon with its past — will continue to be under the spotlight.