United States-based watchdog group BishopAccountability.org unveiled an online database documenting more than 80 Roman Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing minors in the Philippines during a press conference in Manila on January 29, Wednesday.

The newly released database of BishopAccountability.org includes names, photographs, and details of alleged offenses, with some cases dating back more than two decades.

Anne Barrett Doyle, a director at the said watchdog group, criticized the “prolonged silence” of Philippine bishops, stating that it has “enabled clergy members to commit sexual abuse without accountability.”

“Philippine bishops feel entitled to their silence. They feel entitled to withhold information about sexual violence toward minors. They feel entitled to defend accused priests,” Doyle said at the conference.

None of the 82 clergy members, including seven bishops, listed in the new online database have been convicted in any Philippine court.

In line with this, Doyle urged Philippine prosecutors to investigate church officials who failed to report cases of abuse.

Meanwhile, Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David stated that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CPCP) has established the Office on the Protection of Minors, led by San Fernando, Pampanga Archbishop Florentino Lavarias.

“Our mandate from Rome is to take the issue of accountability very seriously, especially those related to alleged abuse cases involving priests,” David said.

The cardinal emphasized that individual bishops and religious leaders are responsible for handling abuse complaints and enforcing disciplinary measures against accused clergy.

BishopAccountability.org, which has monitored the Roman Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis since its founding in 2003, expressed concern that some clergy members listed in the database had been cleared of charges and allowed to return to church duties, once again gaining close access to potential victims.