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CNN Live At Daybreak

A Catholic Church Draft Report on Priestly Abuse

Aired February 17, 2004 - 06:24   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: And CNN has reviewed a copy of the draft report on sexual abuses by Catholic priests. Though allegations have been lodged against more than 4,000 priests, victims' rights groups say the numbers are low.
CNN's Jason Carroll has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh lord, come to my rescue.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The report attempts to shatter the secrecy surrounding priestly sexual abuse for the past 50 years. CNN saw a draft of the report put together by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the request of the U.S. Conference of Bishops.

Preliminary numbers, based on church records, show 11,000 allegations of abuse nationwide between 1950 and 2002. Seventy-eight percent of victims were ages 11 to 17; 16 percent eight to 10; and slightly less than six percent were seven years old or younger. Of the 11,000 allegations, 6,700 were substantiated by church records. One thousand were unsubstantiated. The remaining 3,300 were not investigated because the priests who were accused were already dead by the time allegations surfaced.

The president of the bishops conference, who has not seen the draft, says, "These reports will be a very sobering and important milestone. My heart goes out to all who have suffered."

Victims like David Cerulli, who say as staggering as these numbers are, the real number could be even higher.

DAVID CERULLI, ALLEGED SEX ABUSE VICTIM: Victims have a hard time coming forward. We believe that there are more victims out there who haven't reported their abuse.

CARROLL: The research also found 4,450 priests were accused of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002. That number represents about four percent of the 110,000 priests who were in active ministry. More than half of the accused priests named in a single allegation. A little more than 25 percent had two or three; about 13 percent four to nine; three percent had 10 or more allegations involving minors. That three percent accounts for 147 priests. But those priests were responsible for abusing nearly 3,000 victims. Included in that group, priests like Father Paul Shanley in Boston, who is accused of molesting 30 children since 1967. REV. THOMAS REESE, "AMERICA" MAGAZINE: I think what it shows is that, you know, a few priests can be a terrible plague on people -- on children.

CARROLL: The report suggests the abuse increased in the '60s, peaked in the '70s and fell off in the '80s and '90s. Why? Some clergy say the church got a wakeup call in the mid-1980s when a priestly abuse scandal erupted in Lafayette, Louisiana.

(on camera): Again, this is a draft report that was put together by the researchers here at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Expect there to be changes before the final version of the report is released to the public on February 27th.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we are awaiting comment from a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Bishops, the group that commissioned this draft survey. So far, they have declined comment. In addition, Bill Burleigh, a member of the National Review Board of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, which is made up of lay people, says he won't comment until the formal report is released.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired February 17, 2004 - 06:24   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And CNN has reviewed a copy of the draft report on sexual abuses by Catholic priests. Though allegations have been lodged against more than 4,000 priests, victims' rights groups say the numbers are low.
CNN's Jason Carroll has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh lord, come to my rescue.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The report attempts to shatter the secrecy surrounding priestly sexual abuse for the past 50 years. CNN saw a draft of the report put together by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the request of the U.S. Conference of Bishops.

Preliminary numbers, based on church records, show 11,000 allegations of abuse nationwide between 1950 and 2002. Seventy-eight percent of victims were ages 11 to 17; 16 percent eight to 10; and slightly less than six percent were seven years old or younger. Of the 11,000 allegations, 6,700 were substantiated by church records. One thousand were unsubstantiated. The remaining 3,300 were not investigated because the priests who were accused were already dead by the time allegations surfaced.

The president of the bishops conference, who has not seen the draft, says, "These reports will be a very sobering and important milestone. My heart goes out to all who have suffered."

Victims like David Cerulli, who say as staggering as these numbers are, the real number could be even higher.

DAVID CERULLI, ALLEGED SEX ABUSE VICTIM: Victims have a hard time coming forward. We believe that there are more victims out there who haven't reported their abuse.

CARROLL: The research also found 4,450 priests were accused of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002. That number represents about four percent of the 110,000 priests who were in active ministry. More than half of the accused priests named in a single allegation. A little more than 25 percent had two or three; about 13 percent four to nine; three percent had 10 or more allegations involving minors. That three percent accounts for 147 priests. But those priests were responsible for abusing nearly 3,000 victims. Included in that group, priests like Father Paul Shanley in Boston, who is accused of molesting 30 children since 1967. REV. THOMAS REESE, "AMERICA" MAGAZINE: I think what it shows is that, you know, a few priests can be a terrible plague on people -- on children.

CARROLL: The report suggests the abuse increased in the '60s, peaked in the '70s and fell off in the '80s and '90s. Why? Some clergy say the church got a wakeup call in the mid-1980s when a priestly abuse scandal erupted in Lafayette, Louisiana.

(on camera): Again, this is a draft report that was put together by the researchers here at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Expect there to be changes before the final version of the report is released to the public on February 27th.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we are awaiting comment from a spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Bishops, the group that commissioned this draft survey. So far, they have declined comment. In addition, Bill Burleigh, a member of the National Review Board of the U.S. Conference of Bishops, which is made up of lay people, says he won't comment until the formal report is released.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com