NEW YORK -- More than 1,200 Roman Catholic priests in nearly every diocese in America have been accused of sexually abusing children since the scandal broke a year ago, according to a report from The New York Times.
A survey conducted by the Times through Dec. 31 found that 4,268 people have claimed publicly or in lawsuits that priests had abused them.
The Times survey found that 1,205 priests, or 1.8 percent of all priests ordained from 1950 to 2001, had been accused of abuse. The survey relied on court records, news reports, church documents and interviews.
Most of the accused priests were ordained between the mid-1950s and the 1970s, while the alleged abuse occurred primarily in the 1970s and 1980s, according to the newspaper. Some allegations date to the 1930s.
