But the 2004 figures do not fundamentally alter the patterns found last year in a major study of sexual abuse in the church from 1950 to 2002. As in the past, about 80 percent of the 1,083 victims who came forward in 2004 are male, and the majority said they were between the ages of 10 and 14 when the abuse began. Most of the alleged incidents took place in the 1960s and '70s.
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36324-2005Feb18.html
The John Jay report findings:
*The Report found accusations against 4,392 priests in the USA, about 4% of all priests.
. . .
One of the most startling examples of sex abuse occurred in Ireland, where Father Brendan Smyth systematically raped and sexually abused hundreds of boys between 1945 and 1989. The investigation of the Smyth case was obstructed by the Norbertine Order. This was also seen in other cases, such as that of Fr. Jim Grennan, a parish priest, who abused children as they prepared for First Communion, and Fr. Sean Fortune, who committed suicide before his trial for the rape of children. The abuse by Grennan and others in the Diocese of Ferns in south-east Ireland led to the resignation of the local bishop, Brendan Comiskey.
. . .
Some bishops have been heavily criticized for moving offending priests from parish to parish, where they still had personal contact with children, rather than seeking to have them permanently removed from the priesthood. Instead of reporting the incidents to police, many dioceses simply submitted the offending priests for psychological treatment and assessment. The priests resumed their previous duties with children only when the bishop was advised by the treating psychologists or psychiatrists that it was safe for them to resume their duties.*
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_sex_abuse_cases#Sexual_abuse
This is a snapshot of the situation. I earlier commented with surprise at the numbers cited by another poster, which put the percentage of offending clergymen at approximately 11.9%. However, I didn’t question those numbers – and I should have checked them against credible sources (I admit being a non-Catholic this is not a topic I harp on much or know much about beyond some media reports I’ve heard over the years). At any rate I took some time to look at the real numbers & here’s what I found:
The number cited here reports nearly 5,000 priests are alleged to have committed such crimes (and out slightly more than 40,000 priests in the U.S., which would make the number close to 12%). So I see how the number was arrived at; however, it seems perhaps the basis of that statistic was arrived at through a rudimentary calculation rather than a proper statistical sampling.
For example, this scandal occurred over a period of decades. Hence not all of the offending priests were in their clerical position at the same time. Therefore, it seems logical to assume that at any one time there were only 4% of sexually deviant priests occupying the priesthood.
That being said I’m still quite stunned at the response of the church. To move those priests, after counseling, to another position where they had further contact with children is inexcusable. It is well know that pedophilia cannot be treated (and it was well know back then as well). All I can say is the lawyers of these victims are having a field day (they’re eating steak and lobster, drinking top shelf martinis, and smoking Cubans every night on you guys).
I honestly wouldn’t know where to start as far as suggesting a fix for this problem? I don’t know enough to say it’s celibacy per se at it’s root. Obviously if 96% of all priests are honorable it can hardly be conclusively said that celibacy is a bad idea. However, I do know celibacy was not required in the early church. Beyond that I’m not well informed on this topic – so I’ll withhold comment.
, The New York Times and Boston Globe, did studies on this years ago, in an effort to join the witch hunt. Their findings? Going back to the 1930’s anywhere between 1/12 - 4% of Catholic priests engaged in sexual abuse of minors. The percentage is less than the general public. Much of it involved consensual homosexual activity with boys aged 15-18.
