GoldShadowHunt
02-17-2004, 12:48 AM
This is why religion worries me. Aren't their leaders supposed to be the good guys?
Study Finds More Than 4,000 Priests Accused of Abuse
By RACHEL ZOLL, AP
The draft survey said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the U.S. churchmen during that period, CNN reported.
AP
The bishops commissioned the study as part of a series of reforms meant to restore trust in their leadership.
The survey is being overseen by the National Review Board, a lay watchdog panel the American bishops formed, and conducted by researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
John Jay refused to comment on the CNN report, while board members contacted Monday by The Associated Press wouldn't say whether or not the latest statistics were accurate. They stressed the report is not finished, and that any numbers tallied so far could change before the study is released Feb. 27.
The figures are roughly in keeping with a trend the AP reported on last week.
Some individual dioceses have released the abuse statistics they compiled for the national survey, and the AP has been tracking those reports. Through Monday, 84 of 195 U.S. dioceses had reported claims - with 1,413 clergy accused of abuse since 1950. Tens of thousands of priests worked in those dioceses during that period.
The number of accused clergy is already much greater than the scope of abuse previously estimated by victims' groups and the media.
''I would hope that the public would kind of withhold any immediate judgment until they get the full story on Feb. 27th,'' said Leon Panetta, the former Clinton White House chief of staff and a National Review Board member.
Robert S. Bennett, a prominent Washington attorney and another review board member, said survey drafts are circulating only among board members and John Jay researchers.
No bishops have seen the draft, said Bennett, who also is overseeing the board's investigation into the causes of the clergy abuse crisis. The results of that inquiry will also be released Feb. 27.
''Both the National Review Board report and the John Jay study are still in the process of being written,'' Bennett said. ''People should wait until then to draw their conclusion.''
Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement that he has not seen the drafts and can't comment on any numbers until a final report is issued at month's end.
''I want to reaffirm that the bishops requested these studies so that we could understand as fully as possible what caused this terrible occurrence in the life of our community to make sure that it never happens again,'' Gregory said.
The bishops commissioned the unprecedented survey as part of a series of reforms meant to restore trust in their leadership. The 84 dioceses that released their statistics have reported 2,990 abuse claims so far.
CNN reported that the draft survey said 78 percent of those abused were between the ages of 11 and 17, and that more than half the accused priests had a single allegation filed against them.
It said the report blames the sex abuse crisis on the bishops' failure to grasp the gravity of the problem, their misguided willingness to forgive and their emphasis on avoiding scandal, among other things.
Victim advocates say the survey ultimately will underestimate the number of cases because it is based on self-reporting by bishops.
02-16-04 20:51EST
Study Finds More Than 4,000 Priests Accused of Abuse
By RACHEL ZOLL, AP
The draft survey said 11,000 abuse claims have been filed against the U.S. churchmen during that period, CNN reported.
AP
The bishops commissioned the study as part of a series of reforms meant to restore trust in their leadership.
The survey is being overseen by the National Review Board, a lay watchdog panel the American bishops formed, and conducted by researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.
John Jay refused to comment on the CNN report, while board members contacted Monday by The Associated Press wouldn't say whether or not the latest statistics were accurate. They stressed the report is not finished, and that any numbers tallied so far could change before the study is released Feb. 27.
The figures are roughly in keeping with a trend the AP reported on last week.
Some individual dioceses have released the abuse statistics they compiled for the national survey, and the AP has been tracking those reports. Through Monday, 84 of 195 U.S. dioceses had reported claims - with 1,413 clergy accused of abuse since 1950. Tens of thousands of priests worked in those dioceses during that period.
The number of accused clergy is already much greater than the scope of abuse previously estimated by victims' groups and the media.
''I would hope that the public would kind of withhold any immediate judgment until they get the full story on Feb. 27th,'' said Leon Panetta, the former Clinton White House chief of staff and a National Review Board member.
Robert S. Bennett, a prominent Washington attorney and another review board member, said survey drafts are circulating only among board members and John Jay researchers.
No bishops have seen the draft, said Bennett, who also is overseeing the board's investigation into the causes of the clergy abuse crisis. The results of that inquiry will also be released Feb. 27.
''Both the National Review Board report and the John Jay study are still in the process of being written,'' Bennett said. ''People should wait until then to draw their conclusion.''
Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement that he has not seen the drafts and can't comment on any numbers until a final report is issued at month's end.
''I want to reaffirm that the bishops requested these studies so that we could understand as fully as possible what caused this terrible occurrence in the life of our community to make sure that it never happens again,'' Gregory said.
The bishops commissioned the unprecedented survey as part of a series of reforms meant to restore trust in their leadership. The 84 dioceses that released their statistics have reported 2,990 abuse claims so far.
CNN reported that the draft survey said 78 percent of those abused were between the ages of 11 and 17, and that more than half the accused priests had a single allegation filed against them.
It said the report blames the sex abuse crisis on the bishops' failure to grasp the gravity of the problem, their misguided willingness to forgive and their emphasis on avoiding scandal, among other things.
Victim advocates say the survey ultimately will underestimate the number of cases because it is based on self-reporting by bishops.
02-16-04 20:51EST