Sexual Abuse Crisis in Catholic Church Costs Millions
According to a report by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Church in the United States spent a staggering more than $300 million on costs related to the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The report, which surveyed costs between June 2017 and June 2018, including nearly $200 million in legal settlements.
Meanwhile, during the same period, a new report suggests that the Church was hit with more than 1,000 new “credible allegations” of sexual abuse of a minor by priests and other clergy. Those in the Church insist that the number of allegations and costs of the abuse are significantly higher than what had been reported in previous years. In part, this may be attributed to the creation of victim-compensation programs, such as the one adopted in New York state last year.
Even more remarkable, many think the number of allegations will rise again next year. That’s because the information in the report actually pre-dates the most heated part of the scandal, which occurred last summer. After revelations of abuse allegations against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick and a shocking grand jury report in Pennsylvania that accused more than 300 priests of being sexual “predators” and naming more than a 1,000 victims, suggesting thousands more may come forward, it seems likely that the Catholic Church will be spending even more to settle cases and defend itself in the coming years.
Most of Catholic Church’s Money Was Spent on Legal Settlements to Victims
Here's how the $301 million was spent by the Catholic Church from June 2017 through June 2018:
Settlements: $194,346,291
Other payments to victims: $7,317,904
Support for offenders: $23,366,845
Attorney fees: $30,517,658
Other costs: $7,070,839
Child-protection efforts, including background checks and training: $39,290,069
