Catholic Church Says Reported Sexual Abuse Was Down in 2006

c. 2007 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The number of allegations of sexual abuse against Roman Catholic clergy dropped 9 percent in 2006, according to a survey of U.S. dioceses and religious orders released Wednesday (April 11). While 70 percent of the 714 allegations reported last year occurred between 1960 and 1984, at least 17 […]

c. 2007 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ The number of allegations of sexual abuse against Roman Catholic clergy dropped 9 percent in 2006, according to a survey of U.S. dioceses and religious orders released Wednesday (April 11).

While 70 percent of the 714 allegations reported last year occurred between 1960 and 1984, at least 17 cases occurred in 2006, a slight increase from the 13 incidents that were reported in 2005, according to data provided by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.


“This is a sobering report,” said Bishop Gregory Aymond of Austin, Texas, chairman of the bishops’ Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People. “The decline in reported cases is good. Most allegations were for behavior which took place decades ago, but the fact that there are any recent cases at all is very disconcerting.”

The church now has survey information on abuse dating to 1950. Since that year, an estimated 5,431 priests have been accused and more than 13,000 victims have alleged abuse in a scandal that has cost the church more than $1.7 billion.

Since 2004, when the church first released detailed figures, some 2,589 allegations of abuse have been lodged against Catholic clergy, according to the report. In that time, the church has paid about $783 million in legal settlements to alleged victims of sexual abuse.

The new survey includes self-reported figures from 193 of 195 U.S. dioceses and (Eastern rite) eparchies as well as 150 of the 220 religious orders and institutes that belong of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men. The diocese of Lincoln, Neb., refused to participate and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis reported after the survey’s deadline, according to Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which administered the survey.

The 2006 survey also found that:

_ The overall number of victims and allegations declined 9 percent from 2005, and the number of accused clergy dropped 16 percent.

_ Of the 710 victims who reported abuse in 2006, 121 were age 9 or younger at the time of the alleged abuse, 363 were between 10 and 14, 135 were between 15 and 17 and 87 were of unknown age. No age was reported for four victims.

_ Seventy percent of the offenders identified in 2006 had died, been removed from ministry or left the clergy.


_ The church paid out more than $277 million in legal settlements, therapy, legal fees and support for offenders in 2006, down from $399 million in 2005.

_ The vast majority of victims have been male _ 80 percent in dioceses and eparchies, and 66 percent in religious institutes.

_ Ten percent of the 635 new allegations reported in 2006 were determined to be false or unsubstantiated.

David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said the bishops “`spin’ the numbers.”

“The sad truth is that this entire process is essentially a PR sham based on self-reported `statistics’ given by bishops themselves, the very same men who got us into this mess,” said Clohessy.

Since the Catholic sex abuse scandal erupted in 2002, the U.S. bishops have implemented a charter to protect minors, which includes training employees and clergy and conducting yearly audits of dioceses. In 2006, the Boston-based Gavin Group undertook 11 full audits and 18 “focused” audits of U.S. dioceses that failed to comply with the 2005 audits.


The church plans full on-site audits of each diocese in 2007.

KRE/LF END BURKE

Donate to Support Independent Journalism!

Donate Now!