The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has made public its list of dioceses that conducted—or failed to conduct—an audit of parishes in 2021 to ensure compliance with the bishops’ 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which set forth policies to prevent sexual abuse.

65 dioceses failed to conduct the audits. Most prominent among them are the Archdiocese of Chicago (led by Cardinal Blase Cupich) and the Archdiocese of Newark (led by Cardinal Joseph Tobin).

“Approximately 70% of Dioceses/Eparchies have a formal process in place to visit parishes and schools to verify implementation of Charter policies at a local level,” according to the most recent USCCB report on the implementation of the Charter. “This leaves approximately 30% of Dioceses and Eparchies that do not have a visitation procedure in place to verify that parishes and schools have effectively implemented Charter procedures at the local level.”

“While this process is not a Charter requirement, the lack of on-site verification by Dioceses/Eparchies limits the auditors visibility on whether or not the Charter has been effectively implemented within those Dioceses and Eparchies.”