Almost $3 billion is what allegations of child sex abuse has cost the American church, between 2004 and 2013. The data was released in the 11th annual report from the US episcopal conference on progress in the implementation of the Charter for Protection of Children and Young People. The costs include the settlements, therapy and psychological care for victims and legal fees. The analysis conducted by StoneBridge Business Partners particularly looked at 127 diocese for the period from July 2012 to 30 June 2013.

During this time, there were 857 victims of sexual abuse and more than 900 complaints against the church. However, not all the cases of abuse had sufficient evidence to launch a lawsuit against the members of the clergy accused of paedophilia. In fact, 472 cases couldn’t be proved, 78 had insufficient evidence, while 136 cases were verified for legal action. Another 223 cases were still being assessed.

However, it’s not just these legal issues that are pushing up costs for the American dioceses but also assistance programmes through which the church offers more support to victims. The projects are mainly preventative and include the establishment of clear rules within the context of the church. They also have removal procedures for those who commit abuses and those who are suspected of criminal practices against children. The risky behaviour as defined by the American church includes the “acquisition, possession or distribution by a cleric of child pornography”. The rules are therefore becoming increasingly strict, so as to prevent the recurrence of child abuse.

These measures are a necessity supported by data that lays bare a situation with serious connotations. The report states that, between 2012 and 2013, 730 clergy were accused of paedophilia, including priests and deacons. But often the complaints involve ‘unknown’ people because the victims, due to the trauma and their age, aren’t able to identify or name the offender. In other cases, the accused is deceased. However, the number of cases in which the guilty party is removed from the church ministry shows that things are moving in the right direction.

Training for clergymen is one way of disassociating the church from paedophilia. This is done through the establishment of special seminars and the creation of a more open dialogue with lay institutions, which are all measures that result from adhesion to the statute for the protection of children and young people. In this sense, the statements of the president of the US episcopal conference, archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, bodes well: “The healing of victims and survivors of abuse remains a priority for the church. We share with Pope Francis in his desire for an immediate response from the Church.”