REVEALED: Child sex abuse allegations against the Catholic Church DOUBLED last year and it has paid out $300M in compensation to victims
Child sex abuse allegations in the Catholic Church double in the last year
The church paid out more than $300 million in compensation to victims
That was up 14% from the previous year and double the amount spent in the 2014
The grand jury identified more than 300 priests in six of the New York’s dioceses who have been accused of child sexual abuse committed over many decades
By ROD ARDEHALI
DAILYMAIL.COM
1 June 2019
Child sex abuse allegations in the Catholic Church double in the last year in yet another damning blow for the Vatican, as the U.S. branch of the church was forced to admit it paid out more than $300 million in compensation to victims.
During the period from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, 1,385 adults came forward with 1,455 allegations of abuse, according to the annual report of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection.
That was up from 693 allegations in the previous year. The report attributed much of the increase to a victim compensation program implemented in five dioceses in New York state.
According to the report, Catholic dioceses and religious orders spent $301.6 million during the reporting period on payments to victims, legal fees and child-protection efforts.
That was up 14 percent from the previous year and double the amount spent in the 2014 fiscal year.
The number of allegations is likely to rise further during the current fiscal year, given that Catholic dioceses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have started large compensation programs in the wake of a scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August.
The grand jury identified more than 300 priests in six of the state’s dioceses who have been credibly accused of child sexual abuse committed over many decades.
Since then, attorneys general in numerous states have set up abuse hotlines and launched investigations, and a growing number of dioceses and Catholic religious orders have released names of priests accused of abuse.
‘Victims are coming forward now because of real progress by secular authorities,’ said the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. ‘Lawmakers are increasingly getting rid of archaic, predator-friendly laws and 16 attorneys general have launched investigations, so many victims are feeling hopeful.’
The advocacy group urged officials in every diocese to turn over sex abuse records to their state attorney general for investigation. The group also said church staff should be instructed to report suspected abuse to secular law enforcement before filing a report internally.
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