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In 2003, the archdiocese of Boston paid $85 million to 552 people who claimed sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests. In 2004, the diocese of Orange in California settled 90 abuse claims for $100 million. In November 2004, the USCCB established a data collection procedure, whereby dioceses make annual reports regarding allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons and the costs associated with the abuse. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University was given responsibility for compiling and reporting the data.

According to the CARA reports, there were 898 new allegations of sexual abuse of minors by clergy in 2004, 695 new allegations in 2005, and 635 new allegations against 394 priests or deacons in 2006, in 193 of the 195 dioceses in the United States (Office of Child and Youth Protection et al. 2008). (Two dioceses refused to participate in the survey.) About 70 percent of the reported incidents of sexual abuse occurred between 1960 and 1984. About 70 percent of the accused off enders were either deceased, had already been removed from ministry, or had left the priesthood.

About 60 percent of the priests or deacons named in 2006 had already been accused in previous cases. About 55 percent of the allegations were reported by the victim, according to CARA, and about 80 percent of the victims were boys.

In 2006, dioceses in the United States paid out more than $220 million in settlements to victims. In addition, another $180 million was spent for therapy, support, and legal fees. Th at compares to a $466.9 million total in 2005. Dioceses also spent over $25 million implementing the prevention and protection programs initiated by the charter.

On July 16, 2007, a judge approved a $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles and more than 500 alleged victims of clergy abuse. The deal came after more than five years of negotiations and is by far the largest payout by any diocese since the clergy abuse scandal began. The archdiocese also paid $60 million the previous year to settle 45 cases that were not covered by sexual abuse insurance. Before that, the archdiocese, its insurers, and various Roman Catholic orders had paid more than $114 million to settle 86 claims.

In the following years, seven Catholic dioceses declared bankruptcy due to the enormous financial burdens of the settlements. They are Portland, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona; Spokane, Washington; Davenport, Iowa; San Diego, California; Fairbanks, Alaska; and Wilmington, Delaware.

By 2009, there was evidence that cases of abuse had declined sharply and that most of those that did arise were from decades before. Church leaders observed that, while the scandal was an extremely serious matter, it was, in practical terms, caused by a small fraction--perhaps no more than 1 percent--of the total number of 400,000 Catholic priests worldwide. Some Church leaders, such as Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi of Geneva, Switzerland, argued, moreover, that the abuse did not stem from the condition of pedophilia as it affected the various clerical off enders but rather was rooted in homosexuality, an argument that angered many gay rights groups for its implication that homosexuality is inherently deviant and /or harmful.

In Ireland, in November 2009, a report was released that revealed the existence of many abuses and various systemic problems in that country, and this was followed in early 2010 by a wave of similar revelations involving other European countries. The scandal once again was in the international headlines, and Church officials, including Pope Benedict XVI, made the matter a top priority. An additional round of new cases in the United States also caught the public's eye. Commentators noted that the gap between lay people's expectations (prosecution of abusers) and the Church's tendency to protect its own (clerical off enders) was finally beginning to close.

The crisis has given rise to considerable controversies and questions. For example, many asked whether priests are more likely to be pedophiles than nonclergy. The term pedophile has been used to describe priests accused of sexually abusing children. The American Psychiatric Association defines a pedophile as a person who has intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children. A prepubescent child is generally considered to be under age 13. But because prepubescence can be hard to determine, courts generally have set the age below which an accuser may be considered the victim of a pedophile at 11 years. Statistics show that 20 percent of clergy abusers can be accurately described as pedophiles; most have been accused of abusing victims who are younger adolescents.

In 1972, and again in 1977, studies by the NCCB/USCC found that more than half of all Catholic priests in the United States were underdeveloped emotionally, and that 8 percent were psychosexually maladjusted. It has been suggested by some researchers that this is due in part to the past practice of recruiting boys into training for the priesthood at an age when they have not yet begun their psychosexual development. At these predeveloping and developing ages, boys perceive the discipline of celibacy simply in terms of avoiding all thoughts, words, and deeds of a sexual nature.

Lacking the opportunities for social and emotional development in these areas, boys can grow into adulthood without the psychological tools needed to function normally in society. Their development can be frozen or fixated at a very early age, so that while they may be chronologically adults, they might still be children emotionally. Therefore, since they lack the ability to control sexual urges when they normally arise, those urges may be directed toward individuals who correspond to the levels of their development. In other words, they may direct their sexual urges toward children and adolescents.

It has been suggested by some, most notably Vatican officials, that the problem is largely due to homosexuals in the priesthood. While that may be true, two factors must be considered. The first is that pedophiles, adults who are sexually attracted to prepubescent children, are not necessarily gender specific in their orientation. In other words, pedophiles are not attracted to boys or girls, but rather to children who are not yet sexually differentiated.

Second, in the Catholic culture of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, priests generally had unrestricted access to young boys and adolescent boys. Girls were not permitted to be altar servers, and, in most cases, boys and girls were segregated in Catholic school classrooms and in many parish activities. Catholic parents generally perceived the attentions of priests toward their sons as a good thing. On the other hand, priests who sought the company of girls were regarded with suspicion. Additionally, priests were expected to encourage vocations to the priesthood, and their close association with boys in the parish was considered normal. This allowed much greater freedom for predator priests to target boys.

Since the Council of Trent some 400 years ago, the discipline of priestly celibacy had been rigorously enforced. Additionally, bishops were bound by church law to maintain strict secrecy when it came to violations of celibacy. All records of misbehavior by clergy were kept in confidential files, and officials were obliged not to reveal anything that might cause scandal. Any sexual misbehavior by priests was considered a violation of celibacy.

When credible allegations of sexual abuse did arise, off ending priests were ordered to cease the behavior. In many instances, the off ending priest was transferred to another parish where the sexual abuse continued. When it was determined that a priest had an ongoing problem, he was often sent to a treatment facility where he underwent therapy to resolve the problem. After a period of time, it was determined that the off ending priest was no longer a threat to children, and he was returned to parish ministry. At the time, church law would have made it extremely difficult for a bishop to remove a priest from active ministry.

It has been suggested by some researchers that many bishops lacked the expertise to properly evaluate the suitability of their priests to work safely with children. These bishops relied on the advice and counsel of experts, which, in many cases, was unreliable.

Additionally, it has been suggested that the culture of bishops effectively distanced them from any awareness of the damage sexual abuse was causing children. Insulated from family life and the mainstream of society, they lacked the awareness and sensitivity to adequately understand the problem. They perceived their first responsibility to be the protection of their own, and the welfare of the children became a secondary consideration. Therefore, they failed in their responsibility to care for their people.

In the Catholic culture of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, when most of the abuse occurred, respect and reverence for clergy was placed very high on the social scale. It was inconceivable to parents that priests would do such things to their children. The parents, when informed of the abuse, often reacted with denial. Plus, the credibility of children was often questioned. The word of the priest held sway over the stories reported by the children. Compounding the problem, the children lacked the experience and vocabulary to adequately describe what was happening to them. When a child is sexually victimized by a superior adult, the child believes the adult is right, and it is the child who has misbehaved. During testimony that came out in the investigations, many adults who were sexually abused as children reported that they had tried to inform parents but were rebuffed.

When a child is sexually abused, he or she must deal with the horror in the only ways available. Without adult allies, children will often repress the memory of abuse in the same way a person will not remember a terrible car accident. The memory of childhood sexual abuse may remain submerged for years until something like a newspaper article or television report will awaken the memory. Adults who have lived for decades with sexual and relational difficulties may suddenly become aware of the events that led to their dysfunction. When that happens, they may still lack the courage to come forward. The experience of shame is a very powerful motivator. It is only with a great deal of effort that individuals can break through the barrier of guilt and report their experiences.

With the implementation of Safe Environment programs in the dioceses, the Catholic Church may now be the safest place for a child to be. Statistics indicate that most sexual abuse of children occurs in the home by family members, trusted family friends, and neighbors. If anything, the sexual abuse scandal has provided society with a new awareness of the threat of sexual predators. The United States will no longer be deaf or blind to the plight of its children.

Few would debate that guilty clergy and religious leaders should face legal penalties for their behavior in the same manner that any other citizen should. Furthermore, punitive financial damages (often into the millions of dollars) are a common form of legal recourse in the United States in legal actions against large institutions. However, in the case of a church, are there circumstances that make this a complex issue of justice? There have been church members, both clergy and laity, who have openly wondered whether large-scale financial suits are the most effective, or even fair and just, manner to deal with the issues. In fact, it has been argued that many entirely innocent people are punished by punitive financial awards against a church institution that must then sell property (often quickly), lay off staff, and /or lower salaries, because of the abuses of a minority of church staff and officials. Often the most vulnerable properties, offices, and personnel, are those dealing with minority or marginal communities within the church--and it is arguable that this is much more common in the cases of church institutions losing a large financial court case than a major industrial or commercial company facing a major financial payment. Who, in fact, is paying the price for these settlements of abuse scandals?

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