Clergy sex abuse crisis may cost church more than $700 million

Published: 2004-03-01

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The nationwide financial cost of the clergy sex abuse crisis could be well above $700 million, based on figures in the John Jay College of Criminal Justice study on the nature and scope of the scandal. The study said that U.S. dioceses and religious communities reported a total of $573 million in abuse-related costs from 1950 to 2002. But it added that 14 percent of the U.S. dioceses and religious communities did not provide financial data and the sum does not include settlements made after 2002, such as the $85 million agreed to by the Boston Archdiocese. Several other archdioceses and dioceses reported 2003 settlements totaling $59.8 million. They included the Louisville and Seattle archdioceses and the Covington, Ky., and Bridgeport, Conn., dioceses. When these 2003 settlements are added to the John Jay sum, the total is $717.8 million. The John Jay study was commissioned by the U.S. bishops' National Review Board and was released Feb. 27 in Washington.

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