WASHINGTON — About 4 percent of U.S. priests ministering from 1950 to 2002 were accused of sex abuse with a minor, according to the first comprehensive national study of the issue.

The study said that 4,392 clergymen-almost all priests-were accused of abusing 10,667 people, with 75 percent of the incidents taking place between 1960 and 1984.

During the same time frame there were 109,694 priests, it said.
Sex-abuse related costs totaled $573 million, with $219 million covered by insurance companies, said the study done by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

It noted, however, that the overall dollar figure is much higher than reported; 14 percent of the dioceses and religious communities did not provide financial data and the total did not include settlements made after 2002, such as the $85 million agreed to by the Boston Archdiocese.

The study, released in Washington Feb. 27, was commissioned by the U.S. bishops’ National Review Board, which also released its own report at the same news conference on the causes of the clergy sex abuse crisis that has rocked the church for the past two years.

The review board, named by the bishops and composed of prominent lay people, is monitoring compliance with […]