Number of priests accused of child sex abuse decreasing, says study

Published: 2006-03-30

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Although child sex abuse allegations against Catholic clergy may continue, there is a marked decrease in the number of cases that have occurred in recent years, said a report by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Most of the recent allegations concern events that took place decades ago, it said in a supplemental report to its mammoth study of the nature and scope of the U.S. clergy sex abuse crisis. The original study, covering the years 1950-2002, was released in 2004 and commissioned by the U.S. bishops' National Review Board. The supplemental study contained further analysis of the same data and was released in Washington March 30 along with the 2005 audit of how the U.S. church is applying its sex abuse prevention policies. "The decrease in sexual abuse cases is a true representation of the overall phenomenon," said the John Jay supplemental report. "Even if more cases are reported, they will be based primarily on abuse that occurred years before," it said.

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