"260 reports of abuse yearly in Protestant churches "

[DemBones DemBones]

June 15, 2007
BY ROSE FRENCH

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The three companies that insure the majority of Protestant churches in America say they typically receive upward of 260 reports each year of young people under 18 being sexually abused by clergy, church staff, volunteers or congregation members.

The figures offer a glimpse into what has long been an extremely difficult phenomenon to pin down -- the frequency of sex abuse in Protestant congregations.

Religious groups and victims' supporters have been interested in the figure ever since the Roman Catholic sex abuse crisis hit five years ago. The church has revealed that there have been 13,000 credible accusations against Catholic clerics since 1950 -- 228 a year.

Protestant numbers have been harder to come by because the denominations are less centralized than the Catholic church. Some of the only numbers come from three insurance companies -- Church Mutual Insurance Co., GuideOne Insurance Co. and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Co. Together, they represent a large chunk of all U.S. Protestant churches.

http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/religion/429030,CST-NWS-prot15.article
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Logic has always suggested that the numbers would be fairly equal, given that those who have studied pedophilia and ephebophilia find that 1-2% of all men are involved.

Has anyone heard this news about abuse among Protestants on television or radio or seen it in print elsewhere? It's an AP story, came out on Friday. . . The better to bury it, perhaps?