John Jay report: Key findings from study of Catholic child sex abuse

Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Wash. at a news conference by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, where the findings of a study analyzing the pattern of clergy sex abuse were released. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

The Post’s Michelle Boorstein reported Wednesday on the long-awaited report on sex abuse in the Catholic Church completed by John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

The $2 million four-year study was partially funded by the Catholic Church, but its findings may be surprising to church critics and apologists alike. Among the conclusions:

-No single ‘cause’ of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests is identified.

-The rise in abuse cases in the 1960s and 1970s was influenced by social factors in American society generally. This increase in abusive behavior is consistent with the rise in other types of ‘deviant’ behavior, such as drug use and crime, as well as changes in social behavior, such as an increase in premarital sexual behavior and divorce.

-Features and characteristics of the Catholic Church, such as an exclusively male priesthood and the commitment to celibate chastity, were invariant during the increase, peak and decrease in abuse incidents, and thus are not causes of the ‘crisis.’

-Although no specific institutional cause for the increase in incidence was found, factors specific to the Catholic Church contributed to the decline in the mid-1980s.

Read the full report below:

The study’s correlation between social change and the sexual abuse of children (informally, “blame the hippies”) has already ignited the blogosphere.

Are you convinced by the study’s findings that a rise is sex abuse was “influenced” by a rise in other types of “deviant” behavior?

Has the Catholic Church done enough to understand and prevent sex abuse within its ranks?