Diocese says 34 more individuals have reported abuse

Waterloo, Iowa -- Over the last two years, 34 individuals have reported incidents of child sexual abuse by priests to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dubuque, officials said in a report on Friday.

"Each person comes forward with a story and often much hurt and pain," Archbishop Jerome Hanus said in a letter to Catholic households in the archdiocese, which covers 30 northeast Iowa counties and the cities of Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Mason City.

Hanus' letter was meant to update members of the archdiocese on its response to the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church.

The 34 incidents were among 1,092 new allegations of sexual abuse that have been reported against at least 756 priests and deacons across the country, the nation's Roman Catholic bishops said Friday.

In a previous report in December 2003, Hanus said that 26 priests had been accused of sexually abusing children between 1950 and 2002, involving a total of 67 victims 12 girls and 55 boys.

Read the article at Sioux City Journal dated 02/18/2005

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