Study says data lacking to compare clergy abuse to general society

Published: 2004-04-14

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Comparing the child sex abuse problem in the Catholic Church with other sectors of U.S. society is impossible because of the lack of comprehensive data about other institutions, said a detailed report by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Much of the information about other churches and organizations -- such as the Boy Scouts of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America -- comes from newspaper articles, it said. The new report is a companion to the previously released John Jay national study on the nature and scope of child sex abuse in the U.S. church commissioned by the U.S. bishops' National Review Board. The latest report summarized major academic works on sex abuse of minors over the past 30 years. The aim of the 148-page report titled "Child Sex Abuse: A Review of the Literature" was to provide a context for the clergy sex abuse crisis in the U.S. church. It was completed at the end of March and posted April 2 on the Web site of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at: http://www.usccb.org/nrb/johnjaystudy/litreview.pdf.

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