Distinguished Service Award
Terence McKiernan
BishopAccountability.org
2023 Honoree
The American Catholic Historical Association is honored to bestow the 2023 Distinguished Service Award to Terence McKiernan, co-founder and president of BishopAccountability.org. McKiernan holds master’s degrees in Classics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and the University of Bristol.
Founded in 2003, BishopAccountability.org has developed a database and archive with over 500,000 files, articles, and documents related to Catholic clergy abuse. He is one of the country’s leading advocates for victims of clerical abuse. His work has deeply influenced scholarship on the Catholic Church and sexual abuse.
Past Winners
| Year | Awardee | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Terence McKiernan | BishopAccountability.org |
| 2022 | Institute for Black Catholic Studies | Xavier University of Louisiana |
| 2021 | Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism | University of Notre Dame |
| 2020 | not awarded | |
| 2019 | The Archival Center of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles | |
| 2018 | Fordham University | |
| 2017 | The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives | Catholic University of America |
| 2016 | National Park Service | |
| 2015 | Trappists (Members of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery, Conyers, Georgia) | |
| 2014 | Institute of Jesuit Sources (St. Louis) | |
| 2013 | Karen M. Kennelly, C.S.J. | Conference on the History of Women Religious |
| 2012 | Norman C. Francis | Xavier University of Louisiana |
| 2011 | John Treanor | |