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The sexual abuse scandal in Davenport diocese is one of a number of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.
The decision was driven by many claims which focused on Bishop Lawrence Soens, who was accused of fondling as many as 15 students during his tenure as priest and principal at Regina Catholic High School in Iowa City during the 1960s. Soens denies the allegations.
In February 2006, the Diocese of Davenport investigative panel found behavior that may have been inappropriate, but it did not appear to be sexual in nature. [1]
One claim was settled for $20K in 2004. Two more suits were pending in May 2006. Seven more suits were filed in May 2006. One new suit with 13 plaintiffs was filed in August 2006 alleging abuse from 1959 to 1967. A judge discharged one suit in October 2006. [2] Recently, Bishop Soens was the first United States Roman Catholic Bishop to be named as being the object of 'credible' sexual abuse charges. [3]
On October 10, 2006, the Diocese of Davenport filed for Chapter 11 protection. [4] By November 27, 2007, $37 million had been allocated to 156 persons.
Since taking office, Bishop Martin John Amos has had to deal with the fallout from the sexual abuse scandal that had engulfed the Church. Two days before he assumed office, the Diocese of Davenport filed for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy protection.
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, acknowledgement and apologies by Church authorities, and revelations about decades of instances of abuse and attempts by Church officials to cover them up. The abused include mostly boys but also girls, some as young as three years old, with the majority between the ages of 11 and 14. Criminal cases for the most part do not cover sexual harassment of adults. The accusations of abuse and cover-ups began to receive public attention during the late 1980s. Many of these cases allege decades of abuse, frequently made by adults or older youths years after the abuse occurred. Cases have also been brought against members of the Catholic hierarchy who covered up sex abuse allegations and moved abusive priests to other parishes, where abuse continued.
The Diocese of Davenport is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church for the southeastern quarter of the U.S. state of Iowa. There are 11,438 square miles (29,620 km2) within the diocese. The diocese's eastern border is at the Mississippi River; the northern border comprises the counties of Jasper, Poweshiek, Iowa, Johnson, Cedar, and Clinton; the western border is made up of the counties of Jasper, Marion, Monroe, and Appanoose; and the southern border is the Iowa–Missouri border.
Lawrence Donald Soens was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City in Iowa from 1983 to 1998.
The Nature and Scope of the Problem of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States, commonly known as the John Jay Report, is a 2004 report by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, based on surveys completed by the Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States. The initial version of the report was posted on the Internet on February 27, 2004, with corrections and revisions posted on April 16. The printed version was published in June 2004. The church's own John Jay Report is online at John Jay Report.
The sexual abuse cases in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon in the United States is an important chapter in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States. During its course in July 2004, the archdiocese under Archbishop John George Vlazny filed for bankruptcy.
The sexual abuse scandal in Miami archdiocese is part of the Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami is the largest non-governmental provider of social services and operates the largest non-governmental school and hospital system in South Florida.
The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic diocese of Orange is an important chapter in the Catholic sexual abuse scandal in the United States.
The sexual abuse scandal in Phoenix diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States.
The sexual abuse scandal in Fall River diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.
The sexual abuse scandal in Palm Beach diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.
There have been many lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, and scandals over sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in the United States of America.
Settlements and bankruptcies in Catholic sex abuse cases have affected several American dioceses, whose compensation payments have totaled in the billions of dollars.
The ecclesiastical response to Catholic sexual abuse cases is a major aspect of the academic literature surrounding the Church's child sexual abuse scandal. The Catholic Church's response to the scandal can be viewed on three levels: the diocesan level, the episcopal conference level and the Vatican. Responses to the scandal proceeded at all three levels in parallel with the higher levels becoming progressively more involved as the gravity of the problem became more apparent.
The sexual abuse scandal in Providence diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.
The sexual abuse scandal in Bridgeport Diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States.
The sexual abuse scandal in San Diego diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.
The sexual abuse scandal in Wilmington diocese is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.
The sexual abuse scandal in Hartford archdiocese is an episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States.
The Society of Jesus has had different episodes of Catholic sex abuse cases in various jurisdictions.
A grand jury investigation of Catholic Church sexual abuse in Pennsylvania lasted from 2016 to 2018, and investigated the history of clerical sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses.
