German Bishops' Report: At Least 3,677 Minors Were Abused By Clerics
The study found that 5 percent of priests in the country's dioceses had been accused of abuse. Germany's justice minister said the study was "shocking and probably just the tip of the iceberg."
A report on clerical sexual abuse in Germany released Tuesday found thousands of cases of sexual abuse of minors by clerics in the Catholic Church between 1946 and 2014 â and warns that the actual number is surely higher.
The study looked at more than 38,000 sets of personnel records from the country's dioceses, as well as criminal records and interviews with those who say they were abused and clerics accused of abuse.
It found documentation of abuse of 3,677 minors by 1,670 clerics â 4.4 percent of all clerics whose personnel records were reviewed. Among diocesan priests,
