The German report comes in the wake of recent attempts to count the toll of abuse by Catholic priests elsewhere in the world, though investigators there were afforded more independence. Their report found 4,392 priests with allegations of abuse, and 10,667 alleged victims from 1950 to 2002. But many abuse victims and their advocates say they do not trust that the church is being transparent, and have called for government investigators to step in. That is what happened in Australia, where a royal commission looked at child abuse in many religious institutions, including the Catholic Church. From 1980 to 2015, the report found, there were 1,880 church employees — mostly priests — suspected of abuse, and 4,444 alleged victims.

Source: New York Times September 13, 2018 00:30 UTC