ARCHDIOCESE OF HARTFORD CT

Priests with Substantial Allegations: 24
Total Priests: 1,413
Victims: 79
Cost: $2,045,115 for compensation and counseling
Sources of Funds: $1,418,705 from insurance, and $626,410 through a self-funded insurance reserve

See the Dallas Morning News database entries on Archbishop Henry Mansell and Archbishop Emeritus Daniel A. Cronin. The June 2002 database examined the records of bishops and identified those who had allowed accused priests to continue working or had otherwise protected priests accused of sexual abuse. The database is relevant to the bishops' "Nature and Scope" study because the bishops who prepared the surveys for the study are in many cases responsible for the "scope" of the problem.

Priest Abuse Report Issued
Archdiocese of Hartford Releases Its Numbers

By Frances Grandy Taylor
Hartford Courant
February 24, 2004

http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-archdiocese0224.artfeb24,0,1301718.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

Since 1950, 24 priests in the Hartford archdiocese have had "substantial" sexual abuse allegations against them, involving 79 victims, according to figures released Monday. The Roman Catholic archdiocese also said it had paid $2.05 million to compensate victims and settle claims.

The archdiocese collected the statistics for a national study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York that was commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The survey of 195 Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States is being conducted in an effort to determine the scope and cost of the priest sexual abuse crisis.

The survey asked the bishops to report known cases that occurred or were reported between 1950 and 2002. The Hartford archdiocese said Monday that 20 priests have had "substantial allegations of the sexual abuse of children." Since January 2003, the archdiocese received 23 additional accusations - 19 against priests involved in earlier cases, and four against priests who had not been accused before. A total of 1,413 priests have served the archdiocese since 1953.

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, a website that tracks and compiles priest sexual abuse cases from court documents and published reports, said the public should be critical of the numbers released Monday and in the final report.

"All this is bishop self-reporting," she said. "There was no independent effort to determine true numbers; the public should not deduce that this [commissioned John Jay survey] is an independent survey."

Of the $2,045,115 the Hartford archdiocese paid in compensation, $1,418,705 was paid by insurance and $626,410 was paid through a self-funded insurance reserve.

"While the actual statistics over the period covered by the survey are relatively minimal in scope, even one perpetrator, one victim, is one too many," Archbishop Henry J. Mansell said in a statement Monday. "Clearly, history cannot be changed. However, we can make sure that history is not repeated."

The complete John Jay tally is expected to be released Friday, but a number of dioceses, including Bridgeport, Norwich and now Hartford, have released their own results from the survey.

In January, the Norwich diocese reported sexual abuse allegations against 19 priests since 1953, with compensation payments from its general fund and from insurers totaling $568,000.

The Bridgeport diocese reported earlier this month that there had been allegations against 32 of its priests, involving 107 victims and $37.7 million in settlements.

The Associated Press has been tracking figures from the 112 dioceses that have released their findings. As of last Friday it reported 2,243 accusations against clergy, and 4,757 abuse claims filed. Some of the archdioceses with large numbers of cases, such as Boston and Louisville, have not yet released their findings.

The Rev. John P. Gatzak, a spokesman for the Hartford archdiocese, said 12 of the 24 accused priests are dead, including the four who are the subject of the most recent allegations. The others are no longer in active ministry.

Gatzak said most of the incidents date to the 1960s and 1970s, including those involved in the allegations made in 2003.

"We can assure the entire community that these men are no longer in positions where they can minister or affect young people," Gatzak said.

Doyle disagreed that such men were no longer a threat. Though not in active ministry, such priests can settle into unsuspecting communities, Doyle said, noting a recent report in the Boston Globe, which found a defrocked priest later was employed as a greeter at Disney World.

"Don't the people of Hartford want to know where these men are?" Doyle said. "Many of them are likely still alive. The archdiocese is a keeper of an unofficial sex offender registry."

A discussion of this story with Courant Staff Writer Frances Grandy Taylor is scheduled to be shown on New England Cable News each half-hour today between 9 a.m. and noon.

Diocese Releases Records of Sexual Abuse Claims
20 Priests Stand Accused During Past 50 Years

nbc30.com
February 23, 2004

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Archdiocese of Hartford said its records show that 24 priests have been accused of sexual abuse of children over the past half century.

The statistics are based on records dating back to 1950.

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Sidebar

"While the actual statistics over the period covered by the survey are relatively minimal in scope, even one perpetrator -- one victim -- is one too many."
- Archbishop Henry Mansell

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The figures are part of the national reporting by each Roman Catholic Diocese in the wake of the scandal involving sexual abuse by priests.

The Hartford figures show that more than 1,400 priests have served in the archdiocese since 1950 and those accused represent just slightly more than 1 percent.

The archdiocese said there have been 56 victims, with the allegations dating to the 1960s and 1970s. More than $2 million has been paid to compensate the victims or to pay for counseling for them.

The report from the Hartford Archdiocese contains allegations against 20 priests. But the reports runs only through 2002, the period covered by the survey. Since then, the archdiocese said it has received 23 additional accusations of abuse against the priests covered in the survey and four other priests.

Of the 24 priests accused of abuse, 12 are dead; 10 are no longer in active ministry, one has been laicized and one was terminated from the archdiocese, church officials said.

"While the actual statistics over the period covered by the survey are relatively minimal in scope, even one perpetrator -- one victim -- is one too many," Hartford Archbishop Henry Mansell said in a statement. "Clearly, history cannot be changed. However, we can make sure that history is not repeated."

The Roman Catholic Church will make an unprecedented, nationwide accounting of abuse claims and costs this week. Some bishops already have started releasing local figures. As part of the survey, dioceses are reporting the data to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Church officials also are required to release details about financial settlements to resolve abuse claims.

The Hartford archdiocese paid $2.045 million to compensate and provide counseling to victims, church officials said. Of that total, $1.4 million, or 69 percent, was paid by insurance and $626,410, or 31 percent, was paid by the archdiocese through a self-funded insurance reserve.

Earlier this year, the Norwich Diocese reported allegations against 19 priests, or 1.4 percent of that diocese's priests, since 1953. The Bridgeport Diocese reported allegations against 32 priests, or 2.5 percent of the priests in that diocese.

Hartford archdiocese says 24 priests accused of abuse

Associated Press

http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=1663107

HARTFORD (AP) - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford has received "substantial" allegations of sexual abuse of children against 24 priests since 1950, church officials said Monday.

Church officials, who are reporting figures for a national survey, said there were a total of 79 victims, with most of the allegations dating to the 1960s or 1970s. The 24 priests represent less than 2 percent of the total number of priests who served in the archdiocese during that period, church officials said.

"While the actual statistics over the period covered by the survey are relatively minimal in scope, even one perpetrator - one victim - is one too many," Hartford Archbishop Henry Mansell said in a statement. "Clearly, history cannot be changed. However, we can make sure that history is not repeated."

Cindy Robinson, an attorney who has pending abuse claims against the archdiocese, called the reported percentage of priests accused of abuse "meaningless."

"The use of the phrase 'substantial allegations' is historically a typical tactic used by church officials to hide sex abuse scandals," Robinson said. "That means there could be dozens of allegations which some church official felt were unsubstantiated. I personally don't find that very comforting."

The Rev. John Gatzak, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said the reference to substantial allegations means claims that were substantiated or had sufficient credibility to be considered true.

The Roman Catholic Church will make an unprecedented, nationwide accounting of abuse claims and costs this week. But Connecticut's bishops have already released local figures. As part of the survey, dioceses are reporting the data to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Church officials are also required to release details about financial settlements to resolve abuse claims.

The Hartford archdiocese paid $2.045 million to compensate and provide counseling to victims, church officials said. Of that total, $1.4 million, or 69 percent, was paid by insurance and $626,410, or 31 percent, was paid by the archdiocese through a self-funded insurance reserve.

Earlier this year, the Norwich Diocese reported allegations against 19 priests, or 1.4 percent of that diocese's priests, since 1953. The Diocese of Norwich has spent $70,000 from its general fund for treatments for alleged victims and their families or for other costs associated with alleged clerical abuse, while its insurers have spent an additional $498,000, church officials said.

The Bridgeport Diocese reported allegations against 32 priests, or 2.5 percent of the priests in that diocese. The claims involved 109 allegations from 107 people. Bridgeport church officials said they have paid $37.7 million in settlements.

The report from the Hartford Archdiocese contains allegations against 20 priests through 2002, the period covered by the survey. Since then, the archdiocese said it has received 23 additional accusations of abuse against the priests covered in the survey and four other priests.

Of the 24 priests accused of abuse, 12 are dead; 10 are no longer in active ministry, one has been laicized and one was terminated from the archdiocese, church officials said.