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 The Church must do all she can never to let abuse happen again. And we must all continue to work with full resolve toward the healing and reconciliation of the victims/survivors 

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The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in the report released Tuesday that of the 683 adults who reported allegations for the first time, "most allegations reported today are of incidents from previous decades."

Sixty-eight percent of the complaints relate to events that took place between 1960 and 1984 -- the majority from 1975 to 1979, the report says.

Many of the clergy members accused have since died, or been relieved of their church duties. More than 280 of them had been accused in the past, it said.

Of the 21 accusations made by minors, seven were considered credible by the police and three were determined to be false, the report said. Three other cases were still under investigation.

The Church spent $144 million dealing with the scandal in the United States in 2011 -- including attorneys' fees, settlements, and support for offenders -- a decrease from $150 million in 2010.

The Roman Catholic Church has been rocked for several years now by a series of scandals involving allegations in pedophilia, including in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Germany and the United States.

The report is based on an audit of the Catholic dioceses in the United States by the StoneBridge Business Partners.

The audit has been undertaken every year since the Church was rocked by pedophilia claims in 2002, when the then archbishop of Boston admitted to sheltering a priest accused in multiple abuse cases.

"The Church must continue to be vigilant," said Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the president of the bishops' conference.

"The Church must do all she can never to let abuse happen again. And we must all continue to work with full resolve toward the healing and reconciliation of the victims/survivors."

The publication of the report comes several weeks after the start of the first trial of an American bishop who sheltered pedophile priests.

Monsignor William Lynn, who was responsible for supervising more than 800 priests in Philadelphia, stands accused of failing to report allegations of sexual abuse and failing to keep two priests away from minors.

Lynn faces up to 14 years in prison.

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Sun May 19 21:14:10 SAST 2013 ::

Apr 12, 2012

JudyJones

quoted by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, "The Church must do all she can never to let abuse happen again. And we must all continue to work with full resolve toward the healing and reconciliation of the victims/survivors."

We would suggest that the Bishops need to start being honest about their handling sex abuse within the church.

Victims are still trying to get their predators removed and made public. Bishops still do not report accused clerics to law enforcement. Children are still in danger of being sexually abused by clerics who are still working in parishes unbeknown to the public.

Plus if the church officials are doing such a good job, why is it necessary for them to use legal tactics to shut the victims up?

Do these officials not read the news? There are two top Catholic officials (in Philadelphia and Kansas City) facing criminal charges for ignoring, concealing and enabling heinous child sex crimes. Btw.. did the Philly and KC dioceses happen to pass this self reported audit.?

To all the victims who were sexually abused stay strong, You are very brave, your voices are powerful and they are being heard.
The real truth will prevail and children will be much safer because you do 'not' stay silent.

Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511 <snapjudy@gmail.com>
"Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests" and all clergy.

Report Abuse

Apr 13, 2012

Iwe

Its tough to be holy
Report Abuse

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