Abuse claims tallied

last updated 8 January 2015

New York

A national survey found that 4,450 of the 110,000 Roman Catholic priests who served between 1950 and 2002 were accused of molesting children, CNN reported this week. The tally—4 percent of all priests—was higher than bishops had estimated before a lay watchdog panel commissioned the report, scheduled for release on Feb. 27. The top U.S. bishop, Wilton Gregory, called the findings a “very sobering and important milestone.” Church critics said the numbers, including a total of 11,000 cases of abuse, were actually too low. Many cases were probably covered up or never reported, said David Clohessy, a victims advocate. “This is not the entire truth,” he said.