Panama Catholic Church reports 37 clergy abuse complaints

The Catholic Church in Panama has recorded 37 complaints alleging sexual abuse by clergy members between 2001 and 2025, according to a report released on September 22.

The report was prepared by Spain's Villanueva University and the University of Notre Dame in the United States at the church's request. It covered allegations involving minors and other vulnerable people.

Jose Domingo Ulloa, the Archbishop of Panama City, said the review sought to examine how the church had handled sexual abuse against minors. He repeated an apology to victims that he made in 2023 and said five clergy members were defrocked after being convicted of sexual abuse.

The report found no evidence of a deliberate policy of concealment by the church in Panama, but it identified problems in the way complaints were handled.

Maria Jose Valero, one of the report's authors, said the number of complaints did not necessarily show the full scale of abuse because some victims are reluctant to come forward. A 2019 report by the Child Rights International Network found that Latin America had the lowest reporting rates for clerical sexual abuse despite being the world's most Catholic continent.