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	Social Trends, Seminary Character Among Issues in Abuse Causes Study The Georgia Bulletin November 19, 2009 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2009/11/18/US-1/ BALTIMORE (CNS) -- An ongoing study of the causes and contexts of sexual abuse by priests delves into a broad assortment of factors, including societal trends, treatment approaches over the decades and the character of seminaries in different generations. An interim report on the "Causes and Context Study" presented to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Nov. 17 during their fall general assembly outlines a complex, multidimensional project. The full study, commissioned by the USCCB in 2002 in response to the sexual abuse crisis, is expected to be completed by late 2010. Some of the general findings suggest there are close correlations between incidents of sexual abuse and events in society, particularly during the social upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s, the authors said. Preliminary findings include little evidence that homosexuality is a factor in who sexually abused minors; the rise in sexual abuse cases in the 1960s and a decrease in the 1980s track with other behavioral changes during the same period; the environment in seminaries when a majority of priest-abusers were educated may be an influencing factor; the number of reported incidents of sexual abuse falls beginning in the 1980s when "human formation" programs began and seminary candidate screening became more "nuanced."
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