AUSTRALIA
Daily Mail (UK)
By STEPHEN JOHNSON FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
World-first data from the Catholic church has revealed seven per cent of priests are accused child sex abusers.
The shocking figures coincide with the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse’s 15th and final public hearing on the church, beginning in Sydney on Monday.
This is the first time in the world Catholic church records on child sex abuse have been analysed for public consideration, and it covers church records from to 1950-2010.
More than 20 per cent of the members of some Catholic religious orders — including Marist Brothers and Christian Brothers — were allegedly involved in child sexual abuse, the hearing was also told.
In her opening address, counsel assisting the royal commission Gail Furness , SC, said a survey revealed 4,444 alleged incidents of abuse between January 1980 and February 2015.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.