A new database launched by BishopAccountability.org lists over 80 priests accused of child sexual abuse in the Philippines, igniting a global outcry and prompting a conference focused on ending clergy abuse. The database release coincides with the 'Zero Tolerance Philippines Summit 2025,' organized by Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), a global coalition of survivor groups demanding greater accountability from bishops and the Catholic Church. The lack of convictions for child sexual abuse by priests in the Philippines raises serious concerns, highlighting the need for investigation and systemic change. Survivors and advocates emphasize the devastating lifelong impact of abuse and the urgency for justice and support.
THE Jan. 29 launch of BishopAccountability.org's database listing at least 82 priests who have been charged or accused of child sexual abuse in the Philippines has made international news. The United States-based child-protection organization behind the site is headed by Anne Barrett Doyle and Suzy Nauman, who have called for an end to bishops' tolerance and coverup of clerical child abuse and of greater care and help for victims and survivors.
News of the database hit two days before the opening of a conference called 'Zero Tolerance Philippines Summit 2025.' It was organized by the Ending Clergy Abuse , a worldwide coalition of survivors' groups in 25 countries dedicated to working for greater transparency and accountability for all, especially bishops, to end the systematic abuse of children in dioceses where this exists. The group demands that priests, religious and church people accused of child abuse be charged and brought to court.Not one single priest has been convicted of child abuse in the Philippines. What needs to be investigated is why and how ECA says. It demands that the top priority of bishops — and the people of God — should be to protect, heal, empower and safeguard children, not just with words and fine-sounding statements, but with action aimed at attaining justice for those abused by clergymen.This is what bishops are most reluctant to do, and their inaction has created a culture of covering up crimes against children in the Catholic Church. The sexual abuse of so many children is heinous and despicable. As a conference speaker said on Jan. 31, the 'protective' attitude these bishops adopted may be understood as tolerating the abuse and even being an accessory to the crime by their silence and inaction.However great this crime is, even more so is leaving the abused child to suffer the resulting trauma, anger and pain for the rest of their lives. These never go away without the therapy that enables the victim to release that pain and anger, as many a survivor will tell. That terrible act of violence against the person lasts a lifetime, and it would feel as if it only happened yesterday. The memory of the abuse will return at unexpected times and disturb their lives again.Sexual abuse haunts its victims, no matter how deeply they bury it within their psyche or try to banish it from their memory. It can lead to mental health issues if left untreated or cause some to turn to drugs, resulting in dysfunctional lives. Others could turn their anger into hatred and become violent, disruptive and vengeance-seeking. A few could even take violent revenge against their abusers once they become adults.All this is because the trauma caused by childhood sexual abuse is not treated, and victims get no help or justice. It can be 10 times worse when the child is raped by a person they trust, like a priest. The victims are 'discarded' by the abusive priest and by an uncaring bishop or adult. Not only are these children damaged for life, but so are the abuser, his bishop and the church. The people's trust in and respect for the clergy are shattered, and the church's credibility is lost forever.Ignoring the victims or even blaming them also damages the credibility of and trust in the church and in all the thousands of good, honest, dedicated clergymen and religious. They, too, are made to suffer the shame that the truth about clerical abuse and its coverup reveals.History has shown that the day of truth will come, as it has to many others, to a church that has covered up and protected abusers and failed the children they victimized. The longer pedophile priests are tolerated, coddled and protected; the more children are raped and abused and left without help. The United Nations Children's Fund said in a report titled 'Situation Analysis of Children in the Philippines' that 8 in 10 children experienced some form of violence, including physical, psychological, sexual or online abuse. It also said one child in every four experienced sexual abuse and violence.There is this cruel tendency of adults not to believe children who report abuse and then blame them or accuse them of lying. Many are told to shut up and not complain. They are sometimes even told to forgive their abusers, be it a priest, their own father or a relative, and endure the abuse as a sacrifice to God. If abused by a priest, all the more, they are threatened and silenced.There is a Catholic priest now in jail in Cagayan who had recorded on video his repeated sexual assault and rape of a 15-year-old girl. He had threatened that if she complained or told anyone, he would show the videos to her classmates and parents and post them online. He admitted to all his crimes but said it was consensual. A diocesan priest offered the parents and child a college scholarship to drop the case. She refused, and the case is still ongoing after three years.This is one child's fight for justice with overwhelming evidence that will make history in the country if there is a conviction. It will be appealed, though, which will be another challenge for a very brave girl who suffered and overcame the humiliation and hurt the abuse caused her. She is now an empowered young person seeking justice. It is justice yet to come from the nation, from the church and the jailed priest now on trial.This is one child's struggle for justice that will never go away or be forgotten. It will haunt the judiciary, the nation and the Catholic Church if justice is not done.
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