The Dicastery for Legislative Texts’ 2024 Letter on Publishing Lists of “Credibly Accused”

Abstract

In a letter dated 5 September 2024, and posted only in late February 2025 on their website, the Dicastery for Legislative Texts strongly criticized the practice of publishing “lists of credibly accused clerics.” The letter is but the latest in a series of statements from the Holy See against a practice that is, at present, widespread in the United States. Citing Pope Francis and basic principles of law regarding the right to reputation and the right to the presumption of innocence, the dicastery charged with the proper interpretation of canon law unambiguously reaffirmed the illegitimacy of the practice of publishing names of clerics merely accused of criminal behavior. In addition to providing an unofficial English translation of the original Italian version, this article discusses the letter’s import, reasoning, and some of the questions raised by its release.