PORTLAND (ME)
Portland Press Herald
By GREGORY D. KESICH, Portland Press Herald Writer
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has received 22 new allegations of child sexual abuse against 12 priests, according to an audit released Friday by a national church organization.
The alleged abuse took place 20 years ago or longer, said Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the diocese. The allegations were received over a 13-month period that ended last August.
The information came as the result of a new national review of all Catholic dioceses to determine how well they have complied with child-protection policies developed during the church's sex-abuse scandal. On Friday, the U.S. Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops reported receiving 1,092 new allegations against 756 different priests.