Priesthood (Catholic Church)

Very Sick Men

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• published: 26 Jun 2014
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The Catholic sex abuse cases are a series of allegations, investigations, trials and convictions of child sexual abuse crimes committed by Catholic priests, nuns and members of Roman Catholic orders against children as young as three years old with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14.[1][2][3] Many of the cases span several decades and are brought forward years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who did not report sex abuse allegations to the legal authorities. It has been shown they deliberately moved sexually abusive priests to other parishes where the abuse sometimes continued.[4] This has led to a number of fraud cases where the Church has been accused of misleading victims by deliberately relocating priests accused of abuse instead of removing them from their positions.[5] The cases received significant media and public attention throughout the world, especially in Canada, Ireland, and the United States. In response to the attention, members of the church hierarchy have argued that media coverage has been excessive and disproportionate.[6] According to a Pew Research Center study, media coverage mostly emanated from the United States in 2002, when the Boston Globe began a critical investigation. By 2010 much of the reporting focused on child abuse in Europe.[7][8] From 2001-2010 the Holy See, the central governing body of the Catholic Church, has "considered sex abuse allegations concerning about 3,000 priests dating back up to 50 years" according to the Vatican's Promoter of Justice.[9] Cases worldwide reflect patterns of long-term abuse and the covering up of reports.[note 1] Diocesan officials and academics knowledgeable about the Roman Catholic Church say that sexual abuse by clergy is generally not discussed, and thus is difficult to measure.[10][11] In the Philippines, where as of 2002 at least 85% of the population is Catholic, revelations of child sexual abuse by priests followed the United States' reporting in 2002.[12] Research and expert opinion reported in 2010 indicated that evidence does not point to men within the Catholic Church being more likely than others to commit abuse,[13][14][15][16] and indicated that the prevalence of abuse by priests had fallen sharply in the previous 20 to 30 years