Canadian Reporting System for Sexual Abuse or Cover-up by a Catholic Bishop
Disclosing an experience of sexual abuse can be very unsettling and deeply painful; however, it can also be an important step toward healing and justice for victims-survivors, and is necessary for the Church in its commitment to responsibility, accountability and transparency.
Sexual abuse or other sexual misconduct by a bishop, or or whose actions or omissions intended to interfere with or avoid civil investigations or canonical investigations regarding sexual abuse, can be reported to Church authorities using the Canadian Reporting System for Sexual Abuse or Cover-up by a Catholic Bishop. This reporting system uses a confidential and secure platform designed by ClearView, an independent professional ethics firm based in Canada, to transmit your report to the proper Church authorities, who in turn will act as required by Church and civil law.
Make your report online via ClearView’s highly secure and strictly confidential platform.
Make your report by phone via this Canada-wide 24-hour toll-free number operated by a bilingual ClearView agent. All ClearView agents are trained to provide a verbatim account of your report.
You may also wish to contact civil authorities and are required to do so if a minor is at risk as per the laws of each Canadian province and territory. See Provincial and territorial child protection legislation and policy (2018) by the Public Health Agency of Canada, Table 6 “Duty to Report.”
How to submit your report
Whether online or over the phone, this infographic describes the steps when submitting a report:
The Canadian Reporting System for Sexual Abuse or Cover-up by a Catholic Bishop was established by the Bishops of Canada in response to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Vos estis lux mundi (You are the light of the World). It represents another step in the bishops’ ongoing commitment to responsible ministry and the protection of minors and vulnerable persons.
Protection of Minors: Excerpts from Church texts and statements – PDF
If you are concerned about any other kind of misconduct by a Bishop, or if your report concerns sexual abuse by a priest, deacon, consecrated person (Brother or Sister), or officially mandated pastoral personnel, please contact the diocese/eparchy where the incident occurred.
For instance, to report an incident in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, please contact either Anne E. Williams, BSW, RSW, SEP at (306) 220-0448 or awilliams.home@gmail.com or Father Marvin Lishchynsky, Judicial Vicar, at (306) 659-5825 or toll free at 1-877-661-5005 Extension *825 or mlishchynsky@rcdos.ca.
If your report concerns the current or a previous Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, contact your diocese/eparchy for assistance in reporting the incident to the Secretariat of State of the Holy See.
