More Roman Catholic sexual abuse history comes to light in Charlotte, North Carolina
by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte released a list of 14 clergy Monday it said had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors since its founding in 1972, including the names of six other clergy who had been credibly accused before the diocese’s founding, and 23 men who had been caught outside its jurisdiction.
The list adds to a total of 5,300 names of sexually abusive clergy released by Roman Catholic dioceses around the world over the last two years, which an Associated Press report found to be far short of the real number, 900 names having been excised from or left out of the published lists.
“To all who have been victimized by Catholic clergy, I apologize on behalf of the diocese and express to you personally my heartfelt sorrow for the physical, emotional and spiritual pain you have suffered,” the Rev. Peter Jugis said on behalf of the Diocese of Charlotte.
A report compiled by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice after its investigation of the Catholic child abuse scandal in 2004 found that between 1950 and 2002, 6,700 allegations made against 4,392 American clergy members had been met with only 252 convictions or 5% of the accused being brought to justice.