Study finds 1,000 cases of sexual abuse in Catholic Church since mid-20th century

ABC News -- September 12, 2023


GENEVA -- A sweeping, year-long study of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and others in Switzerland published Tuesday has turned up more than 1,000 cases since the mid-20th century, as the Swiss church becomes the latest in Europe to reckon with the abuse scandal.

With few exceptions, those accused of wrongdoing were all male. Nearly three-fourths of the documents examined showed the sexual abuse involved minors. 

The report, commissioned by the Swiss Conference of Bishops and led by two University of Zurich historians, offers a deep look at the sexual abuse and harassment that has confounded the Catholic Church across the globe in recent decades — upending the lives of many victims and their families, and tarnishing the image of the institution. 

The authors said in a statement that they identified 1,002 “situations of sexual abuse" in the Swiss church, including accusations against 510 people. The abuse, they wrote, affected 921 people.

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The Canadian Press - September 1, 2026 Montreal, QC - Former Montreal priest Brian Boucher, who was convicted in 2019 of sexually abusing two boys and sentenced to eight years in prison, is now facing new charges related to possessing and accessing child sexual abuse material. The alleged offences occurred between April 7 and April 9, and his case has been postponed until September 8. Boucher was granted statutory release in 2024 under strict conditions, including avoiding children and his victims. Still, his release conditions were tightened in 2025 after he was reportedly seen near areas where one victim and his family were likely to be. He was formally removed from the priesthood in 2020 following his conviction and an independent inquiry that criticized the Montreal Catholic diocese for its handling of earlier complaints against him.

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