Catholic bishops: Clergy abuse claims rose in 2008
NEW YORK Roman Catholic dioceses and religious orders saying a arise in molestation claims against ministers last year, according to a report released Friday through the U.S. bishops. Nearly all the 803 cases involved adults who said they had been abused because children decades ago.
Church leaders paid less in settlements, attorney fees and other abuse-related costs in 2008. Still, the sum reached just over $436 million, bringing the total payouts for abuse to greater quantity than $2.6 billion since 1950, according to studies commissioned by the agency of the prelates.
The statistics are part of an annual review of bantling preservation in American dioceses and rigid orders that is mandated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
As part of the study, auditors found that all but one of the dioceses they evaluated had fully implemented the bishops’ child protection policies by the end of the year.
The safeguards include background checks for employees and volunteers, safe environment training for children and a discipline plan for offenders that removes them from any public church work. Dioceses increased their spending on safeness programs to $23 the multitude in 2008.
The noncompliant diocese was Tulsa, Okla., which had not completed training for children.
Despite the high marks, auditors did find some failings.
Investigators said they could not easily declare a verdict contact information for the lay review boards in more regions. The panels are supposed to help bishops respond to abuse claims.
The auditors also urged manifold church administrators to increase juxtaposition with police and other outside authorities when evaluating cases.
“Unfortunately, great number dioceses are conducting the investigations themselves without also making a report to civil authorities,” the researchers said. Advocates have repeatedly encouraged victims to make their first mention to police, not the church.
Teresa Kettelkamp, a former Illinois state police official who leads the bishops’ chit protection charge, said the riddle occurs mostly with what are considered “boundary violations.” That could embrace giving gifts to a child or being alone with a young person, a variance of the dioceses’ code of conduct and that could signal a predator is grooming a child.
Kettelkamp uttered more dioceses are reluctant to advertise busy police departments about these violations, but she tells church administrators to contact police anyway.
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