BishopAccountability.org
	Austrians Left Church in Record Numbers Amid Abuse Scandal Monsters and Critics January 11, 2011 http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1610824.php/Austrians-left-Church-in-record-numbers-amid-abuse-scandal Vienna - A record number of Austrians turned their back on the Catholic Church in 2010, the Church said Tuesday, pointing to the abuse scandal as the main reason. The number of believers who left jumped to 87,400, up 39 per cent compared to 2009 figures. 'The main reason is the considerable rise of secessions after the Church abuse cases became public, with numbers reaching a record since 1945,' the Church's news agency Kathpress said. Amid a wave of revelations about mostly sexual abuse by clergy across Europe, more than 1,000 people contacted Austrian help lines last year to report cases. Prosecutors have been notified of some 100 cases so far, and around the same number have received compensation from the Church. There are 5.5 million Catholics in Austria, accounting for 66 per cent of the population.
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