Alleged sex abuse by clergy greater than earlier thought

The scope of sex abuse accusations against Roman Catholic clergy since 1950 appears to be much greater than previously estimated by victims' groups and the media, an Associated Press review of reports from dioceses has found.

The US church will make an unprecedented, nationwide accounting of abuse claims and costs later this month, and some bishops already have started releasing local figures. Dioceses across the country found that 1,341 clergy members have been accused of molesting minors, with more than half the dioceses yet to report.

"What it's really doing is showing us in black and white that the problem is much worse than any of us thought," said Sue Archibald, president of The Linkup, a Kentucky-based victim advocacy group.

Statistics yet to be released by some archdioceses that have faced hundreds of allegations, including Boston and Los Angeles.

A January 2003 review by The New York Times counted 1,205 accused priests nationwide over five decades.

Survivors First, an advocacy group compiling its own list from media reports and lawsuits, has counted 1,800.

But Paul Baier of Survivors First said he compared the numbers his organization collected with reports from 41 dioceses and found the dioceses' local statistics were double what he had counted.

"If those trends continue across 195 dioceses, we can see the number that's self-reported by the bishops being twice as high as the names in our public database," Baier said.

The figures compiled are part of a first-of-its-kind national survey the bishops commissioned from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. By opening themselves up to greater scrutiny, the bishops hope to restore trust in their leadership following waves of scandal over abusive priests. The report is due out on Feb. 27.

The national survey won't break down statistics by individual diocese, but bishops are free to release local figures, and many said they are doing so to fulfill their pledge of transparency in the wake of the crisis that erupted two years ago.

The AP found that 80 of 195 dioceses have released their reports so far. At least 60 additional dioceses plan to release their local figures by the end of the month.

Others set a date and a few did not participate in the study.

Determining many priests actually were guilty of abuse is difficult, since many cases were not reviewed by law enforcement and most of the claims involve alleged misconduct that occurred many decades ago.