USCCB president says sex abuse survey results could be 'startling'

Published: 2003-10-22

ROME (CNS) -- The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said the results of a clergy sex abuse survey going back more than 50 years could be "startling" to Catholics but should reassure them that church leaders are serious about solving the problem. The survey, expected to be completed by the end of February, demonstrates that the church wants to be "totally honest" and make sure that children are truly protected, Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Ill., said in an interview with Catholic News Service in Rome Oct. 22. The bishop made a similar warning at the national convention of the Religion Newswriters Association in September. He also touched on the subject in an address to the Knights of Columbus in Washington in August. Bishop Gregory told Catholic News Service in Rome that the survey's aggregate numbers concerning sex abuse cases over several decades may "add to the pain" of Catholics who already have been scandalized by the crisis. "It's going to be startling because there's no other comparable study by any other institution, and there's no other study that details all of the good things the church has done," Bishop Gregory said.

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