Clergy sex abuse survey is about much more than numbers

Published: 2004-02-26

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The national study of more than 50 years of sexual abuse of minors by U.S. Catholic clergy covers much more than the number and ages of victims, the number of allegedly abusive priests or deacons and the years the abuse occurred. The researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice -- which conducted the study with the cooperation of nearly all U.S. dioceses and most male religious orders -- also sought to uncover how clerics first met their victims, what kind of abuse was inflicted, how often and how long it occurred. They asked the age and gender of each victim, the number of victims accusing each alleged abuser, who first made the allegation, what church official was first contacted, and how the diocese or religious order responded. They asked if the abuser had problems with alcohol or drugs or both and if he plied the victim with alcohol, drugs, pornography or other inducements. Numerous other questions sought to draw out patterns of abuse and many other aspects to paint a thorough picture of the nature and scope of U.S. Catholic clerical sexual abuse of minors from 1950 through 2002.

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