Report by Catholic Church Sees Gains on Sexual Abuse, by Laurie Goodstein, New York Times, April 11, 2011

Report by Catholic Church Sees Gains on Sexual Abuse

By Laurie Goodstein
New York Times
April 11, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/us/12abuse.html?_r=1

A protest against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia before an Ash Wednesday Mass last month.

An annual report issued by the Roman Catholic Church in the United States found that almost all of its 195 dioceses and archdioceses were in compliance with the abuse prevention plan that American bishops put in place in 2002 in response to the national scandal over clergy sexual abuse.

The report found that while current accusations of abuse of minors are rare, the church is still deeply mired in the fallout from past cases. In 2010, 683 people made abuse accusations for the first time, with 653 of them reporting alleged abuse from years ago. Thirty of the accusations were made by minors, and the report said that all of these were forwarded to the civil authorities.

However, victims' advocates and church critics say the annual report lacks credibility because it is based on self-reporting by the dioceses. The information is given to an outside auditing firm called the Gavin Group. The auditors do not examine personnel records or case files of those accused of abuse, so they cannot verify the dioceses' information.

The credibility of the process came under scrutiny this year after a grand jury accused the Archdiocese of Philadelphia of failing to remove from the ministry 37 priests accused of abuse or inappropriate behavior — a violation of the church's own policies. In response, the archdiocese suspended 24 priests, and recently suspended two more. But in the report released on Monday, the Philadelphia Archdiocese was found fully in compliance with the abuse prevention policy, known as The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Church officials say they were looking into the reasons for the discrepancy.

The Dioceses of Lincoln, Neb., and Baker, Ore., as well as five jurisdictions for Eastern-rite Catholics, refused to participate in the audit and so were found not in compliance. The church says it cannot compel a bishop to participate.

Of the 188 participating dioceses, the auditors sent warning letters to 55 saying they must improve their practices. The most common problem was the failure of parishes or schools to offer "safe environment" training for children.

The church spent about $70 million on settlements with victims in 2010 and nearly $34 million on lawyers' fees — a decrease from the peak in 2007, when the church spent $420 million on settlements and $53 million on lawyers. Insurance covered about one-third of the abuse-related costs.

The report also found an increase in reports of "boundary violations," or inappropriate behavior, by priests. It attributed the increase to the success of the church's safe environment programs in raising awareness among young people and families.