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	U.S. Bishops to Vote on Funding of Catholic Clergy Sex-Abuse Study Catholic Online October 27, 2006 http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=21787 Washington (Catholic Online) – The U.S. bishops will consider a proposal to release about one-third of the $1 million they set aside for research to examine the causes and context of sexual abuse of children and young people by clergy. The vote on the proposal, set for the bishops' conference Nov. 13-16 meeting in Baltimore, Md., would release $335,000 to be used to underwrite the first stages of the research by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Last November, the U.S. bishops approved a proposal from the college for the study, estimated to cost $2-3 million. The study is set to be completed in 2009. As part of the proposal, John Jay College is required to raise funds for the study, which was called for by the bishops Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. The first component of the study will look at the historical context and influences on the problem. According to Karen A. Terry, principal investigator on the study, "this component involves collection and analysis of archival, longitudinal data related to the demographic and normative changes in society and its institutions, including the Catholic Church in the United States, to frame our analysis of sexual abuse by priests." Hypotheses to be explored include "whether the incidence of abuse of children by priests is or is not consistent with overall social patterns of deviant behavior during the last half century," the proposal outlined. If these patterns are observed to be distinctly different "then the hypotheses to be explored would inquire about ministry-specific factors," it said. The second component, focusing on diocesan responses to abuse after 1985, will seek to gain an "understanding of the temporal, structural, and leadership factors within the Catholic Church that framed the response of individual dioceses to the crisis." The third segment of the study will aim at understanding, "on an individual level, how priests with allegations of sexual abuse differ from other priests as well as sex offenders who are not priests." "It is important to recognize that the church is funding a study of ground-breaking significance in the field of research into sexual abuse of children," the proposal noted. "Additionally, however, the study will have historical significance for the church itself. It is important, in many years from now, to understand as much as possible about the individual priests who committed acts of child sexual abuse, to share this understanding with bishops, priests and their diocesan associates, so as to prevent future crises." Patricia Ewers, chair of the National Review Board, which advises the bishops on addressing the sexual abuse crisis, said that "we need to know what led to this violation of a sacred trust in order to take the steps needed to prevent future offenses." "All relationships are based on trust and some relationships are sacred. This study will provide vital information to benefit not just the church, but also families, schools, sports programs and other situations in which young people are placed in the care of adults," she said.
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