Changes

==Recent Controversy==

==Recent Controversy==

[[Image:Cerro_de_Angeles.jpg|right|thumb|Cerro de los Angeles, Madrid, Spain.]]

[[Image:Cerro_de_Angeles.jpg|right|thumb|Cerro de los Angeles, Madrid, Spain.]]

Widespread controversy erupted in 2001 and the years following over past abuse of minors by some Catholic clergy involving inappropriate sexual contact.  The difficulty spanned multiple churches and, unfortunately, difficulty in knowing how to deal with it sometimes led to the priests who were involved being moved from church to church by the presiding Bishops. For the most part the Catholic Church quietly cleaned this up internally in the mid 1980s.  The vast majority of allegations of abuse that came to light in the 2000s occurred before this time period.  Of course most priests were not involved, but the damage that could be done by even a small number of priests if not properly checked was horrible.  Although words like pedophile were often used in the press, in truth 90% of the cases involved priests making overtures towards teenage boys, and not pedophilia.  It was a case of breaking vows and [[homosexuality]].<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=72992710807995&mkt=en-US&lang=en-US&w=98cf251&FORM=CVRE4</ref>.  

Widespread controversy erupted in 2001 and the years following over past abuse of minors by some Catholic clergy involving inappropriate sexual contact.  The difficulty spanned multiple churches and, unfortunately, difficulty in knowing how to deal with it sometimes led to the priests who were involved being moved from church to church by the presiding Bishops. For the most part the Catholic Church quietly cleaned this up internally in the mid 1980s.  The vast majority of allegations of abuse that came to light in the 2000s occurred before this time period.  Of course most priests were not involved, but the damage that could be done by even a small number of priests if not properly checked was horrible.  Although words like pedophile were often used in the press, in truth 90% of the cases involved priests making overtures towards teenage boys, and not pedophilia.  It was a case of breaking vows and non-celibate [[homosexuality]].<ref>http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=72992710807995&mkt=en-US&lang=en-US&w=98cf251&FORM=CVRE4</ref>.  

On July 15 2007 in Los Angeles, the Catholic church paid a $660 million dollar settlement over a priest abuse scandal.  More than five hundred lawsuits dating back to the 1930's were filed in Los Angeles from abuse victims of over two hundred priests and lay people.  The U.S. Catholic church has paid out more than $2 billion in abuse claims dating back to 1950.<ref>[http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070715/la_archdiocese_070715/20070715?hub=CTVNewsAt11 L.A. Catholic church settlement]</ref>

Due to the scandal, the U.S. Catholic church has paid out more than $2 billion in abuse claims.<ref>[http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070715/la_archdiocese_070715/20070715?hub=CTVNewsAt11 L.A. Catholic church settlement]</ref>

Incidents of abuse are not unique to the Catholic Church. A recent article from Associated Press (June 19, 2007) reported that three companies which insure the majority of Protestant churches in America indicated that they receive 260 reports annually of minors being abused by  clergy, church staff, or volunteers.<ref>[http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2007/06/18/80877.htm]</ref> There is a general consensus that this type of abuse is not relegated to any religion in particular, but is a systemic societal issue.<ref>[http://www.reformation.com/CSA/AbuseNotSimplyAChurchProblem.htm]</ref>

Incidents of abuse are not unique to the Catholic Church. A recent article from Associated Press (June 19, 2007) reported that three companies which insure the majority of Protestant churches in America indicated that they receive 260 reports annually of minors being abused by  clergy, church staff, or volunteers.<ref>http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2007/06/18/80877.htm</ref> There is a general consensus that this type of abuse is not relegated to any religion in particular, but is a systemic societal issue.<ref>http://www.reformation.com/CSA/AbuseNotSimplyAChurchProblem.htm</ref>

== See also ==

== See also ==