Frequently Asked Questions

Perhaps you’re wondering why the work of the Dulles Research Institute is needed and how the work of the DRI is done. The following list of FAQs is based on questions we’ve been asked by some of our donors and friends. Just click on a question below to find a response, and then use the button provided to navigate back to this page. If you have questions that aren’t addressed here, please feel free to send them to us, using our Contact form. Our administrative team makes every effort to respond to each question within two business days. And if your question seems like it might be of interest to others, we’ll add it here. Note that it is not the purpose of these pages to solve the complex problems associated with the abuse and harassment crisis; that requires in-depth research, which is the work the Dulles Research Institute is taking on. Whenever the DRI has results of its studies to report, those may be found on this website’s Research page.

1. Isn’t the sexual abuse crisis over? Is there really a need for this kind of research?

2. Haven’t the numbers of Catholic clergy abuse cases dropped dramatically in recent years?

3. I’ve heard the Church screens seminary candidates more carefully than they used to. Won’t this keep abusers out of the priesthood?

4. In 2002, the U.S. Catholic Bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and its Essential Norms for dealing with abuse cases, including its new ‘zero-tolerance’ policy. Hasn’t this effectively taken care of the problem?

5. Haven’t there been effective changes in seminary formation, resulting in a new generation of seminarians and young priests who are better prepared for a life of faithful celibacy?

6. The Southern Baptist Convention and the Boy Scouts of America have now had very public abuse scandals. Doesn’t this prove that abuse of minors isn’t a Catholic problem?

7. Statistically, it looks like abuse by Catholic priests is about on par with abuse in other pockets of society. Doesn’t that confirm that this isn’t really a Catholic Church crisis?

8. Most of the victims of sexual abuse by priests have been teenage boys. Isn’t this really a gay problem? Since the Church has now decided to keep men with “deep-seated homosexual tendencies’ out of the seminary, won’t that take care of the problem?

9. Wouldn’t it be better to let Catholic institutions handle this kind of research?

10. Hasn’t the research on this crisis already been done?

11. Isn’t the real crisis today more about the bishops’ failures in leadership, transparency, and accountability, rather than about continued abuse in the Catholic Church?

12. Are donations to the Dulles Research Institute tax deductible?

13. If I donate to the Dulles Research Institute, how can I be sure that my money will be properly used?

14. How is the Dulles Research Institute organized?

15. Why Dulles?