World News
Pope's visit prompted new abuse allegations in Britain, church reports
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MANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain and Scotland in September prompted a wave of fresh allegations of historical clerical sexual abuse, church child protection officials said. Allegations of sexual and physical abuse against priests, religious men and women, church employees, volunteers and parishioners more than doubled in 2010 compared with the previous year, according to figures released July 28 in the 2010-11 annual report of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission. The commission is the agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales that oversees child protection programs. In all, 92 allegations of sexual and physical abuse were received in 2010 compared with 43 in 2009 and 51 in 2008. Exactly half of the allegations were dismissed after investigations by law enforcement authorities and 41 remain under investigation, the report said. One resulted in a police warning, two in continuing court hearings and two in prison sentences, according to the report. The report said "non-favorable" media reporting of Pope Benedict's visit "focused on the scandal of child abuse by members of the clergy and religious." The media reports had "profound impacts" on the ability of abuse survivors to "articulate their experiences" and also triggered a more energetic response by church officials to "bring justice and healing" to them, the document said. Because of the adverse publicity, the report explained that child protection officials were able to openly "describe mechanisms for dealing with allegations and the actions taken where concerns arise."
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