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	Church Child-protection Cost $1.2M Last Year By Dan Horn Cincinnati Enquirer January 17, 2009 http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090117/NEWS01/901170367 The Archdiocese of Cincinnati spent about $1.2 million last year on expenses related to child protection programs and sexual abuse by clergy, pushing the total cost since 2003 to more than $11 million. The archdiocese released the figures Friday as part of an annual reporting program instituted five years ago at the height of the clergy abuse scandal. About $600,000 covered legal fees, counseling for victims and salary and housing costs for priests who are suspended while allegations against them are investigated. Another $600,000 paid for child abuse prevention programs and the archdiocese's fingerprinting program for volunteers and employees. The total costs last year are comparable to the $1 million spent in 2007. The most costly year was 2003, when the archdiocese spent more than $3.7 million. Church officials say the goal of the reporting program is to keep the archdiocese's 500,000 Catholics informed about costs and other issues related to the abuse scandal. "On this issue, most people clearly believe the church has not been as open as it should have been in the past," said Dan Andriacco, the archdiocese spokesman. "We pledged to be more open in the future and we're trying to live up to that pledge." Anger over the abuse scandal and the financial impact on the church caused a drop in donations in recent years in dioceses across the nation, including the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Some Catholics have complained that church resources should not be consumed by the abuse scandal, while others say the church should be spending even more to help victims. Andriacco said all of the money spent on programs or abuse expenses comes from general fund revenues and is not drawn directly from weekly collections or from specific fundraisers, such as the Catholic Ministries Appeal. The archdiocese's total expenses last year were $67.9 million, so the $1.2 million spent on child abuse and protection represents less than 2 percent of the budget. As part of its annual report, church officials also disclosed that two new allegations of abuse involving one priest were reported in 2008. The archdiocese would not identify the priest, other than to say he is among 10 priests who already have been either permanently removed from the priesthood or from priestly ministry. Since 2003, the archdiocese has received 159 allegations of misconduct and has suspended or permanently removed more than a dozen priests. Victims' advocates say the archdiocese needs to provide more information about how it spent the $1.2 million and more details about the accused priest, even if he no longer works as a priest. They also question whether the steady decline in allegations - from 81 in 2003 to two last year - is the result of an effective child protection program. "Because it's not in the media as much, because it's not talked about as much, not as many people come forward," said Christy Miller, co-leader of Cincinnati's chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "I don't think we've seen the end of it." Andriacco, however, said the church has implemented an extensive child protection program, which includes mandatory fingerprinting and background checks for employees and volunteers. By the end of 2008, he said, 63,000 adults had been fingerprinted for background checks and 85,000 people who work with children have received training about reporting and preventing child abuse. Contact: dhorn@enquirer.com
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