Catholic Dioceses Releases Details Of Sex Abuse Settlements

A Missouri Catholic Diocese has released a report detailing the settlements they’ve reached following allegations of clergy sexual abuse. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau says it has spent more than $700,000 settling claims of clergy abuse over the last 32 years. In a letter with the report, Bishop Edward Rice apologized and said he directed the independent review “in the spirit of accuracy, transparency, and truthfulness”.

The review took more than six months to complete and covers all clergy files over the 63-year history of the southern Missouri diocese. 16 priests were credibly accused of child abuse, with the earliest case involving a priest who assisted before the diocese was formed in 1956.