US Catholic Church Paid $615 Million For Abuse Cases in 2007

US Catholic Church Paid $615 Million For Abuse Cases in 2007

news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Roman Catholic church in the United States paid out 615 million dollars (400 million euros) last year for child sex abuse cases involving members of the clergy, or 54 percent more than the previous year, an official report showed Friday....

McKiernan estimated that more than 5,000 priests out of nearly 41,500 across the United States have been denounced for sexually abusing children since the 1950s....

(visit the link for the full news article)

Of course, the issue of sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy is nothing new, but these numbers are incredible.

They estimate that "considerably" more than 5,000 of the 41,500 priests in the US have been denounced by the church....that's approaching 15%!!! Not to mention the number of victims that never come forward. 15% is far from being a few isolated incidents.

And wow, $615 million dollars paid out. It's very strange that an institution that can afford $615 million does not hold their "employees" under more scrutiny.





news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I'm not sure how much this has to actually do with the catholic church but I think these "priests" AKA pedophiles had this planned out. These low life scum bags probably knew that it would be easy to molest little children under the cover of a priest and therefor went on to become one to fulfill their sick and twisted fantasies. I don't believe this is somehow the fault of the church or that the church encourages it, although they were willing to hide it from authorities and keep a low profile about it, but it is just an easy opportunity for these freaks to take advantage of these unfortunate victims.

lol what do you think those collection plates are for......


haha they should call em, " Bail our priest out" plates.. or " Cover our arses"

sad that more isnt done, like actually watch an protect these kids who work an live with these supposid role models....

kids should be allowed to choose this stuff when they are of proper age to choose to drink an smoke an vote an conceive a child... mayb e then they wont be faslely lead to " worship " an please others in their "religious" hierarchy.....

sad purely sad..... and this religion reigned supreme back in the day, maybe we have them to thank for some of this problem....

reply to post by bakednutz


Interesting that you think these perps had it planned out, and became priests as a cover for the disgusting acts they were planning on committing. I wonder what percentage of guilty priests, if any, had this intent when going through Seminary schooling / priest college / whatever it's called.

I also agree that it's not the church's fault that it happened in the first place....but somewhere between that time and the 5000+ time, it becomes their responsibility to not only police the offending clergy, but to work on a means of prevention. Their denial/silence for decades contributed to an untold number of innocent Catholic kids being scarred for life.

reply to post by bakednutz

I'm not sure how much this has to actually do with the catholic church

Um everything. As you go on to say later

they were willing to hide it from authorities and keep a low profile about it

This warrants an accessory charge as far as I'm concerned.

I think these "priests" AKA pedophiles had this planned out. These low life scum bags probably knew that it would be easy to molest little children under the cover of a priest and therefor went on to become one to fulfill their sick and twisted fantasies.

All this began nearly 60 years ago. How high up in the church does it go? Is pedophilia confined to priests, I dont think so. But as the article says, more than 5000 out of 41500, and thats just the US. That is just wrong and tells me not to let any young members of my family go anywhere near a priest on their own.

While defending their actions answer me this:

Would you leave your son alone with a catholic priest with the odds you got?

CT

I'll tell you one thing, if I was a pedofile, I'd sure go to the church, where you know they'd rather spend the money to protect you if you get caught instead of spending their money on:

1/5 of the world is starving to death

1 billion people in the world do not have access to clean water

Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names

The lives of 1.7 million children will be needlessly lost this year because world governments have failed to reduce poverty levels

According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. That is about 210,000 children each week, or just under 11 million children under five years of age, each year

Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation

Some 1.8 million child deaths each year as a result of diarrhoea from drinking bad water

Number of children in the world
2.2 billion

Number in poverty
1 billion (every second child)

Shelter, safe water and health
For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are:

640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3)
400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5)
270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7)

Children out of education worldwide
121 million

Survival for children
Worldwide, 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (same as children population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy)
1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation

Health of children
Worldwide, 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized
15 million children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS (similar to the total children population in Germany or United Kingdom)


So, I wonder if there's any reason why a pedofile WOULDN'T be inclined to join the church after hearing this. Free defense.


[edit on 3/7/2008 by bigbert81]

Well, your way off thinking that I am defending their actions. I am not in the least. There is nothing worse than a pedophile and I wish we could have public hangings to get rid of them all. I'm not defending the catholic church either. But I do not believe that everyone knew about it. Sure, there were some who did and chose to hide it which makes them just as guilty, but just because some bad apples happen to be a part of an organization does not make the whole organization bad as you suggest. What about the other 35,000 preists? Surely not everyone knew this dark secret and chose to keep it that way. But to answer you question, NO, I would not leave my kids with a priest alone. The reason being is, Im not catholic, I dont know any priests, and I dont leave my kids with people I dont know and trust.

suprise! jesus still loves you! ._o


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[edit on 7-3-2008 by ItsFrickenAndrew]

Many will be unaware of the orchestrated effort by the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale to infiltrate the Catholic Church and destroy from within.

It is also true that the hierarchical contempt for the laity that is still found in dioceses of the Catholic Church around the world enables criminals to do all manner of harm to the laity from sexual abuse, to embezzlement, to other matters that are more metaphysical in nature but could be gathered together under the rubric of "spiritual violence". If one listens to the normal sort of homily preached in the average Catholic parish today, it is a mind-numbing soul-corroding affair that owes its philosophical parentage to Saul Alinsky and Karl Marx rather than Jesus of Nazareth and his early followers.

It is also true that there are more incidences of sexual abuse of children in the public schools of the U.S.A. than in the Catholic Church, but the protectors of public education -- rooted as they are in Marxist views of the control of children -- do not disclose this information on sexual predators and their colleagues in the news media likewise do not shine a light of the same brightness upon the sexual abuse of children in public schools in the U.S.A. Were U.S. Americans actually presented with the true state of problems, issues, and crimes in the various public school systems across the USA, U.S. Americans would abandon public education in favour of local independent schools created by the free association of parents seeking to educate their children.

reply to post by Pellevoisin


You're trying to blame pedophiles in the catholic church on the Communists in the 50's?

You're not serious right?

If your post was a joke, then it might have some humor, but don't tell me you seriously believe that here in 2008, the communists from the 1950's are responsible for pedophilia and sexual abuse in churches.


I'll make it abundantly clear... priests repress their sexual urges... any doctor will tell you... DON'T DO THAT! Your sexual urges if completely repressed become perversions!

Don't try to blame the shortcomings of a religion on some group of people that existed almost 60 years ago and have since faded from memory.

Originally posted by johnsky
If your post was a joke, then it might have some humor, but don't tell me you seriously believe that here in 2008, the communists from the 1950's are responsible for pedophilia and sexual abuse in churches.

The problem has been around much longer than that!

I'll make it abundantly clear... priests repress their sexual urges... any doctor will tell you... DON'T DO THAT! Your sexual urges if completely repressed become perversions!

Good point. Celibate priests were and are a disaster waiting to happen. The priests of the early Church sure weren't celibate; that came later. IIRC, the first 20 or so popes were married. The other Christian churches and denominations with married / adult-sexually-outletted clergy don't have the same record of abuse as the Catholic Church!

Originally posted by johnsky
reply to post by Pellevoisin

 

You're trying to blame pedophiles in the catholic church on the Communists in the 50's?

...

Don't try to blame the shortcomings of a religion on some group of people that existed almost 60 years ago and have since faded from memory.

First, don't put words in my mouth. Second, do some research such as reading the testimony of Bella Dodd and reading "AA-1025 Confessions of an Anti-Apostle". There are a number of proximate causes for the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church as well as its ongoing destablisation. Blaming everything on sexual repression is an absurdist reduction.

Third, don't be so naive as to think that those who held the philosphical positions of the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale have "faded from view". They or their heirs who hold the same worldview are alive and kicking.

We would be naïve and dishonest were we to say this is a Roman Catholic problem and has nothing to do with us because we have married and female priests in our church. Sin and abusive behavior know no ecclesial or other boundaries."

Rt. Rev. William Persell, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, Good Friday Sermon, 2002.

[edit on 8/3/08 by Pellevoisin]