More than 10,600 children have reported being molested by priests since 1950, according to two studies that found the U.S. Roman Catholic Church suffered an epidemic of child sexual abuse involving at least 4 percent of priests, The New York Times reported on Friday.
The newspaper, citing studies commissioned by U.S. Catholic bishops in 2002, said the abuse peaked with the ordination class of 1970, from which one in 10 priests was eventually accused of abuse.
The report revealed that 10,667 children were allegedly victimized by 4,392 priests from 1950 to 2002, but said the figures depend on self-reporting by American bishops and were probably an undercount.
The Archdiocese of Boston on Thursday released local figures from the reports, saying 7 percent of its priests were accused of abuse in the last 50 years.
A group of academics at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City conducted one of the reports. It said 97 percent of the dioceses filled out its surveys.
The other report, on the causes and context of the crisis, was written by a team of prominent Catholic lawyers, judges, business people and bishop-appointed professionals on a national review board, the newspaper said.
This report used interviews with 85 bishops and cardinals, Vatican (news - web sites) officials, experts and a handful of victims, according to The New York Times.
The 145-page report looks at the culture in Catholic seminaries, where priests are trained, and chanceries that they say tolerated moral laxity and a gay subculture.
While the report makes recommendations for reform it does not say if church doctrine or rules need to be changed.
"The problem facing the church was not caused by church doctrine, and the solution does not lie in questioning doctrine," said the review board's report, according to the Times.
Between 1950 and 2003, 162 priests were accused of molesting minors, the archdiocese of Boston said, citing the John Jay report. Both reports were to be released at a news conference in Washington on Friday.