Crisis in the Catholic Church. (Church And State).

The Catholic Church sex abuse scandal has been a major story in the media for the past few months. Each day seems to bring new allegations by the laity against their trusted mentors. The scope of clerical pedophilia is likely to have a far-ranging impact on law enforcement, criminal justice, and the financial structure of the Catholic Church and other institutions.

State legislatures already seek to tighten laws requiring churches to report suspected abusers to law enforcement and to close the loopholes that allow perpetrators to escape justice, including extending statute of limitation laws. But beyond the legal ramifications, the Catholic Church in particular faces a potential financial crisis. Pay-off costs to victims and their families are estimated to already range from $600 million to $1.3 billion. And since many settlements are sealed by the courts and issued under gag orders, the full extent of the financial drain on church resources may never be known.

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops, held semiannually, has debated this issue since the mid-1980s, but the present scandals demonstrate that their policies haven't been effective. Over a decade ago insurance companies began to reevaluate their policies toward churches and the clergy. In fact, a Louisiana abuse case--the subject of Judgment, the 1990 HBO made-for-TV movie in which a Catholic priest was convicted for molesting altar boys and sentenced to twenty years at hard labor without possibility of parole--was responsible for many insurance carriers no longer offering malpractice insurance to dioceses. And those which continue to do so are making rates prohibitive.

All of these financial difficulties make one wonder if churches will seek more public funds for church schools and charities to make up for their losses due to lawsuits and declining revenue from angry and disillusioned parishioners. Will the U.S. Catholic financial crisis spill over into the public realm, affecting legislative coffers? Or will government become more wary of giving economic carte blanche to faith-based institutions that are relying increasingly on taxpayer support?

It should be noted that the clerical sex abuse controversy affects other religious and secular groups, not just the Catholic Church. Two rabbis and cantors in New York and New Jersey face trial on sex abuse charges. A Southern Baptist preacher in South Carolina was sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence for multiple abuses, and a Lutheran pastor in Texas is likely to be arraigned on harassment charges. And one of the first cases to establish a precedent in this area of law was in 1992 when the Episcopal diocese of Colorado was successfully sued by a woman who was a victim of sexual abuse by a priest at the cathedral in Denver. In that case, the diocese was held responsible for the misdoings of one of its clergy.

Professor Charol Shakeshaft of Hofstra University points out in a forthcoming book that 15 percent of U.S. school children are sexually harassed or abused at some point during their childhood and that 5 percent of teachers have been guilty of such offenses. Previous books have detailed widespread sexual shenanigans among local Boy Scout leaders. The major difference between these offenses and those committed by clergy, however, is that laypeople found guilty of sex abuse of minors are usually removed from society and turned over to the criminal justice system. Clergy, on the other hand, historically have been quietly transferred to another diocese or district, where they escape punishment and remain free to commit the same crime again.

Today, the Catholic Church is employing a new and rather divisive strategy toward the mounting allegations of clerical abuse. Of the 194 dioceses across the United States, many now facing criminal and civil actions have decided to fight the charges with high-powered legal action. And contrition for serious errors of judgment on the part of church hierarchy and appeals for public forgiveness have been replaced by countercharges of culpability aimed at the victims and their families. Some diocesan attorneys are even advising Catholic schools and charities to divide assets among shell corporations to protect against claimants. Cardinal Edward Egan of the once-powerful and feared New York Archdiocese has even claimed that priests are "self-employed contractors working for autonomous parishes."

National studies show that the majority of American Catholics blame the church hierarchy for the coverup of clerical transgressions and for refusing to face the realities of human sexuality. But so far calls--even from within the hierarchy itself--for reform, including the abolition of mandatory clerical celibacy and the ordination of married men and women to the priesthood, continue to fall on the deaf ears of the Vatican. But a massive overhaul of church structures may be impossible to repel as the loss of moral authority causes American Catholics to pay less attention to church pronouncements on social and political matters and impacts church-state relationships throughout the world for years to come.

Albert J. Menendez is associate director of Americans for Religious Liberty, a church-state research specialist and demographer, and the author of numerous books relating to church-state issues.