USCCB to vote on revised 'Dallas Charter'
"The current draft maintains alignment with the Charter’s original intention."
The U.S. bishops’ conference is set to vote next week on a revised version of their landmark safeguarding document, the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
But while there have been calls in recent years for a broad overhaul of the document in light of the fallout from clerical sexual abuse scandals beginning in 2018, the revised document presents only a few substantial modifications from the text currently in force.
And according to a memo sent to U.S. bishops, the changes to the charter will not impact a related canonical policy for the U.S., the “Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons.”
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In an explanatory memo obtained by The Pillar on the charter’s revisions, USCCB safeguarding committee chairman Bishop Barry Knestout explained to bishops how the 2026 revised draft had been assembled.
“In November 2022, the body of bishops discussed, during their Regional Meetings, elements of the Charter that need to remain or be improved or developed further. They further discussed if there is anything missing in the Charter and what has been most frustrating and difficult to implement,” Knestout explained.
“As such, and with the input from the Regional Meetings, the current draft maintains alignment with the Charter’s original intention of providing guiding principles for safeguarding in the United States and expressing the bishops’ ongoing commitment to address the prevention of abuse and ensuring that structures are in place to respond to allegations. The current draft is more juridically precise to bring clarity and specificity to various technical elements of the document as evidenced by the new Glossary. The revision also attempts to balance its care of and sensitivity to victim-survivors, with an awareness of due process, the rights of the accused, pertinent aspects of the revised Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, Vos estis lux mundi, and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s Vademecum,” the bishop wrote.
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The revised draft text, reviewed by The Pillar, indicates an effort on the bishops’ part to emphasize that “the whole Church must engage in the ministry of maintaining safe environments for minors.”
But apart from affirming existing training programs, the text does not offer significant suggestions for the roles that should be played in that work of doing so.
The text’s substantial modifications include updates to make note of Vatican legislation in recent decades, including an acknowledgement of the existing canonical requirement for bishops to notify the Vatican of allegations of clerical sexual abuse which have the semblence of truth.
In addition to those changes, the text emphasizes the presumption of innocence for accused priests and deacons, with new text added even to the document’s preamble emphasizing “the proper respect for all persons’ rights,” and both a presumption of sincerity of those who bring forth a complaint of sexual abuse” and a “corresponding presumption of innocence on the part of the accused until guilt is proven.”
The draft text also includes new language about the prospect of returning to ministry clerics who have been accused of abuse when a preliminary investigation “indicates that the accusation does not have the semblance of truth,” or when a cleric has not been found guilty in a canonical process.
“If the priest or deacon is acquitted of the allegations, or if the canonical process has not led to a conviction with moral certitude, efforts will be directed to restore his good reputation with the possible return to ministry, as the circumstances warrant,” the draft text says.
Beyond those, the most notable change to the revised text is the incorporation of a glossary, which defines some canonical terms relevant to allegations of sexual abuse. The glossary does not include a definition for abuse itself, and notably, omits any reference to the most contentious term used in discussion of clerical sexual abuse: “credibly accused.”
While dioceses across the country have faced criticism for using the terms “credible accused” or “credible and substantiated accusation” without consistency, and sometimes without definition, the revised text does not wade into the question, or attempt to offer some standardized usage, despite repeated Vatican guidance to U.S. bishops on the matter.
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The charter document, known commonly as the “Dallas Charter,” was first promulgated by the bishops’ conference in 2002, and was revised modestly in 2011 and 2018.
The charter is not particular law for the United States — it articulates instead a set of moral commitments from the bishops on the topic of child sex abuse, with more precise norms following in the “Essential Norms” document, which does constitute particular law for American dioceses.
But the Dallas Charter has been criticized by canon lawyers, victims’ advocates, and safeguarding specialists, many of whom say the text was written hastily, without sufficient input from experts, victims, or the clerics who would be directly impacted by it.
And both victims’ advocates and canonical experts have in recent years called for comprehensive reforms and modifications to the USCCB’s policies and documents on the reality of abuse in the life of the Church — fleshing out a broader charter of commitments on abuse that would include the abuse and coercion of adults in pastoral settings in the Church, recognize abuses of power, and address the challenge of episcopal misconduct or negligence in addressing cases of abuses.
For its part, the revised Charter text under consideration indicates that “instances of clerical sexual misconduct involving adults are … not within the scope of this Charter.”
A footnote to the text elaborates the intended scope of the document, stating that: “Since the last revision of the Charter in 2018, the Catholic Church has addressed instances of sexual abuse and misconduct that do not fall under the purview of this Charter. For example, a 2023 apostolic letter issued motu proprio by Pope Francis, Vos estis lux mundi, includes a means of reporting, and a procedure for investigating, reports of alleged sexual abuse by a bishop, as well as reports that allege a bishop’s interference with or avoidance of a civil or canonical investigation of abuse that was allegedly committed by another person in church service.”
In 2025, The Pillar reported that the USCCB was reviewing a proposal from Archbishop Shawn McKnight that would see the bishops commit more concretely to responding both pastorally and legally to alleged victims of abuse, protecting whistleblowers, communicating decisions, and protecting the due process rights of priests — and develop a robust response to issues regarding transparency of information and due process for clergy.
That proposal included several parts.
The first would be a “a new text for approval by the body of bishops, which would be organically developed from the Charter, acknowledge its rightful place in history, and build upon its successes.”
The second would be “clear guidelines from the competent USCCB committees to assist bishops in implementing the canonical provisions for penal and disciplinary processes, including the revised law of the past 25 years, which would also address due process concerns for the accused.”
And third was “provid[ing] assistance to bishops who wish to erect new canonical structures, such as interdiocesan penal tribunals, as means to fulfill the commitments expressed in the new statement of moral commitment.”
McKnight sent a six-page draft text to the U.S. bishops, which proposed a significant shift in both tone and substance from the USCCB’s 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.”
The McKnight draft’s preamble aimed to recognize the consequences for Catholics of both clerical sexual abuse and misconduct, along with episcopal cover-ups and perceived inaction on the issue.
“Since the adoption of the Charter, we have learned so much about the painful reality of trauma caused by abuse and what happens if we fail in our responsibility to take action. Sexual abuse by those in positions of trust, and the failure of some bishops to respond appropriately, has deeply wounded not just the survivor-victims but the whole community of the Church,” the proposed text expressed.
Bishops “know that we cannot accomplish the full reconciliation and healing of wounds caused by the scourge of abuse all on our own, or in only one action. The trauma of deep wounds of abuse affecting the Church move us to renew our commitment today, in solidarity with our Holy Father, the rest of our clergy, those in consecrated life, and the laity.”
“Only by fully engaging the whole People of God, who are called and empowered by the Holy Spirit, each according to their own office, charisms, talents, and expertise, are we able to work together in a spirit of mutual respect and with a sense of co-responsibility for our mission to proclaim Jesus Christ risen from the dead,” the illustration text added.
The proposed McKnight text included a sample commitment from bishops “to expand our efforts to include all those who act on behalf of the Church and to advance a holistic approach to safeguarding the People of God.”
“These efforts are about preventing harm by protecting the health, well-being, and personal dignity of everyone in the Church. They are also about responding justly and fairly, in a timely manner, to allegations of crimes against our children, young people, and vulnerable adults,” it said.
“To accomplish these goals, we realize that it is necessary to move beyond the groundbreaking response we made in the Charter and the Essential Norms, and that we act to fulfill our obligations from recent universal legislation to promote the mission of the Church as a sanctuary of mercy.”
“Care for the most vulnerable, especially minors and vulnerable adults, must always be of foremost concern. They must be placed in the center of visibility, concern, and protection,” the draft added.
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While some sources close to the Charter’s revision process say that McKight’s broad proposal was not given sufficient consideration, elements of the archbishop’s proposed text, including a renewed focus on due process, seem to have impacted the bishops’ revised Charter text.
But some components seem to have been modified or amended. For example, while McKnight’s text included a commitment for bishops themselves “to meet, when requested, with a survivor-victim and/or with his or her support person(s),” the USCCB’s draft Charter revision included a similar commitment for the diocesan bishop “or his representative” to conduct such meetings.
While the revised charter text emphasizes the right of clerics to maintain a good reputation, it does not address with specificity the question of balancing that right with the public interest and public safety considerations related to the public disclosure of information, or indicate what decree of public disclosure regarding allegations and investigation of misconduct is necessary to achieve the stated goal of transparency.
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As the bishops prepare to discuss and vote on the text next week, several sources close to the revision process told The Pillar they were surprised that the USCCB’s safeguarding committee did not take up a more robust set of changes to Dallas Charter addressing a broader range of abuses, or move forward with the proposal to add additional documents reflecting on the experiences of the Church in the eight years since the scandal of Theodore McCarrick emerged in 2018.
One senior source close to the revision process called it a “missed opportunity” — adding that while “the world has changed, the Charter won’t.”
In response to requests from The Pillar for interviews with committee and leaders charged with overseeing the revision process, a USCCB spokesman said the conference would “respectfully decline to comment.”