1,122 victims, 592 reported: the report is the result of extensive work that lasted two years
Even the New Zealand publishes a report on the situation of sexual abuse by priests. The report comes from Te Rōpū Tautoko, the coordination group between the Church and the Royal Commission that investigates the issue. The report, the result of two years of extensive work reported by the Vatican media, reports a total of 1,680 complaints made by 1,122 victims against religious and lay people from 1950 to today, with 592 alleged abusers reported. In particular, the 1960s and 1970s are the most critical, with 75% of the complaints dating back to that period. In the two years of work, Te Rōpū Tautoko examined the information documents of the six Catholic dioceses of the country and those collected in 43 Catholic religious congregations; The research also included data provided by 428 parishes, 370 Catholic schools and 67 welfare institutions.
According to the results, 14% of the complaints concern priests; 8% religious belonging to male orders and 3% religious belonging to female congregations. Furthermore, there are 103 complaints against lay staff or volunteers close to the Church. As regards the age of the victims, it should be noted that out of the 1,680 complaints, 1,350 refer to people who were children at the time of the incident and of these almost half report sexual abuse. On the completeness of the report, however, the authors acknowledge that the research could only be based on the reports recorded.
The report is welcomed by Cardinal John Dew, president of the New Zealand Bishops’ Conference. “These statistics on abuse in the Catholic Church dating back to 1950 are horrifying and something we are deeply ashamed of; I am grateful that so much work has been done in researching the details and making them public – he said – as we continue to respond to the Royal Commission. on abuses and build a safer Church for all, I firmly hope that facts like these will help us face the sad reality. The Church will learn from this and affirm its commitment to safeguarding work. ”
Source-www.adnkronos.com