Learning from Catholic Abuse Claims, Orthodox Reform [United States], April 12, 2007

Learning from Catholic Abuse Claims

Orthodox Reform [United States]
April 12, 2007

http://orthodoxreform.org/news/learning-from-catholic-abuse-claims/

USA Today reports several statistics from the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference latest annual report on sex-abuse claims. These findings are noteworthy for Orthodox Christians trying to understand the nature and magnitude of sex abuse issues within the Orthodox Church.

U.S. Catholic Bishops 2006 Report on Sex Abuse

Only 17 of the 714 people who came forward with sexual misconduct complaints against the Roman Catholic church last year were under age 18. This means only 2% of reports came from minors, even though the majority of claims are for crimes against children. This showcases the fact that reports of pedophilia lag by decades, and children are afraid to report what has happened to them.

Most of the people who came forward in 2006 said they had been victimized between 1960 and 1984.

There have been a decline in Roman Catholic abuse claims:

* 2004: 1,092 abuse claims

* 2005: 783 abuse claims

* 2006: 714 abuse claims

Given these numbers, one wonders how many abuse claims are brought forth in the various Orthodox jurisdictions? As the Orthodox do not offer the same transparency and reporting as do their Catholic brethren, it is difficult to say.

Other notable Roman Catholic statistics:

* Over 13,000 molestation claims have been filed against clergy since 1950

* Bishops say abuse-related costs have exceeded $1.5 billion

Dioceses and religious orders payments for settlements with victims, attorney fees and support for accusers and offenders are slightly down:

* 2005: $467 million (considered the highest ever for a single year)

* 2006: $399 million

How many claims were legitimate? 89% were proven true, with other cases unproven or were considered false. Unproven cases do not always mean the abuse did not happen — sometime just that evidence was lacking.

Almost half of abuses came from priests who had no prior misconduct.

Forty-three percent of the claims involved priests who had never before been accused of molesting children.

Disturbingly, more than half of abuse did come from clergy with abuse histories — showcasing the terrible price victims pay when Bishops 'forgive' clergy guilty of sexual misconduct and allow them to continue in positions of authority while receiving counseling or other rehabilitation.

Allowing 'rehabilitated' offenders to continue in their ministry re-victimizes their victims emotionally and puts church communities at risk.