Washington D.C., Jul 13, 2007 / 09:02 am
The Roman Catholic Church in the United States is starting to move out of crisis mode five years after the sex-abuse scandal broke, according to an Associated Press report.
"I think the crisis mode is over, and I think that's a good thing," Robert Bennett, a Washington lawyer told the AP. Bennett is a former member of the National Review Board, which was formed by the U.S. bishops in 2002 to deal with the scandal.
While dioceses continue to receive and settle claims of sex abuse by priests, there are signs to support the claim that the crisis is fading.
The AP report notes that number of clergy sex abuse claims received by Catholic bishops and religious orders in the U.S. declined in 2006. This is the second consecutive year of decline. Furthermore, the new claims involve mostly decades-old events.