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	Protesters Target Abusive Priests By Victor Manuel Ramos Orlando Sentinel June 13, 2008 http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-bishops1308jun13,0,5427656.story A small but vocal group of protesters stood in the midday sun Thursday outside a meeting of Catholic bishops to remind them that sexual-predator priests are still claiming victims. Just four demonstrators showed up outside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which is convening in Orlando for its semiannual meeting through Saturday. David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he made the trip from St. Louis to let the bishops know that the problem of sexual abuse has not gone away. He carried a sign that read: "Bishops: supervise predators." Clohessy's organization has been following a trail of cases of suspended priests who, they say, continue to commit sexual crimes in other communities. The activists want to see the establishment of a priests' offender registry and supervised treatment facilities. "Simply suspending a predator from active duty doesn't cure him or her," said Clohessy, who says he was abused by a priest. "Leaving predators to live on their own, unsupervised in unsuspecting communities, is a recipe for disaster." Many adults came forward around 2002 to say they had been sexually abused by priests as children, rocking the church and forcing the Vatican to address the crisis. The bishop's conference did not issue any specific statements on the matter, but the protest Thursday coincided with a session in which church leaders received an update on the last of two major studies that examine sexual-abuse cases by clergy. Researchers commissioned by the church found more than 4,000 priests, or 4 percent of the U.S. clergy, were linked to abuse cases. The study looks at numerous factors that could have contributed to a 200 percent spike in abuse incidents between 1960 and 1970. The pace of new cases slowed through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The report noted that the increase in abuse coincided with national increases in divorces, sexual activity and drug abuse. The analysis, costing more than $1 million, is expected to be completed with recommendations by 2010, said co-author Margaret Smith of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "The church has already done a significant amount of work to ensure that all dioceses provide much greater protection for children," she said. "We are studying how the problem arose." Victor Manuel Ramos can be reached at vramos@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6186.
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