Many pedophiles don't have criminal records, either because they haven't been caught or haven't been prosecuted. The majority of churches and religious groups do not conduct background checks or take any steps to protect children against mistreatment.
Children's advocate groups say not all background checks are equal and warn that religious groups are often targets for abusers. There is a $10 basic-level background check option that includes a national criminal and sex offender search. In a sampling of 900 churches and religious groups 11,277 background checks were conducted, 40% returned a hit, 21% or 2,320 returned records with felony offenses...Ten Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse remain in parish ministry: Msgr. Richard A. Loomis, head of clergy who oversaw misconduct allegations against Msgr. Patrick Reilly of Burbank, Father Michael J. Carroll, Father Sean Cronin of... |