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CNN Live At Daybreak

Recent Focus of Sex Scandal in Catholic Church Has Been in United States

Aired April 23, 2002 - 05:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The recent focus of the sex scandal in the Catholic Church has been in the United States.

But CNN's Garrick Utley found sexual misconduct by the Catholic clergy knows no boundaries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARRICK UTLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Pope John Paul, the scandal struck close to home in his native Poland. In Posnan, Archbishop Julius Paetz, an associate of the pope, resigned after charges from young seminary students that he had made homosexual advances towards them. Petz stepped down last month only after the charges were disclosed in a polish newspaper.

In Austria in 1995, Cardinal Hans Groer was forced to retire after charges that he had committed sexual abuse 20 years earlier.

Throughout much of Europe, the church's problem has been slowly emerging, often very slowly. In Ireland, about 3,000 victims of abuse in church schools and orphanages will receive compensation. In France, 30 priests have been convicted of abuse since 1995. In Germany, an auxilliary bishop resigned this month after being accused of abusing a woman during an exorcism. But in Catholic Portugal, Spain and Italy, there have been no cases reported.

(on camera): Clearly, the church's problem with sexual abuse knows no borders. But exactly how widespread it is or how large is not clear because the full facts are not known and often church leaders don't want to know.

(voice-over): For example, Brazil, the world's largest Catholic country. Church officials there know that pedophilia exists, but there's been little effort to dig for accurate figures. What's not acknowledged is not dealt with.

PATRICK EKBU:. The particular types of problems that have been addressed in the U.S., they are Western.

UTLEY: But Africa may be the scene of some of the most widespread abuses. There are documented accounts conducted by Catholic groups of priests forcing nuns to have sex since as celibates the nuns do not transmit AIDS. So serious is the problem that the European Parliament last year called on the Vatican to act to stop the abuse.

And as for the Vatican, the official response from its spokesmen about sexual abuse has been yes, it exists, but it is "restricted to a limited geographical area."

Garrick Utley, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And be sure to join us for an hour long special capping the day's events from the Vatican. Live from Rome, "Crisis In The Priesthood," hosted by Connie Chung. That airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time right here on CNN.

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