Dubuque spent $1.1m for abuse of 12 girls and 55 boys; apology; past archbishops' mistaken policies. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Waterloo & Cedar Falls, Iowa; "Dubuque Archdiocese issues church abuse report," http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2003/12/30/news/metro/da099d47158d145986256e0c0051299f.txt , By The Associated Press, Tuesday, December 30, 2003 DUBUQUE: Twenty-six Roman Catholic priests in the Dubuque archdiocese were accused of sexually abusing children over the past 50 years, according to a diocesan report issued Monday. Details of the report, which covers accusations made from 1950 through 2002, were included in a letter sent to all Catholic households in the 30 counties comprising the archdiocese, including Black Hawk County. "I am sorry and apologize for what those priests did to you," Archbishop Jerome Hanus said in the letter. "I apologize also for the inaction of some archbishops and for their mistaken decisions to continue allowing abusive priests a place of authority and respect when they did not deserve it." The report tallies 67 victims of sex abuse by priests: 12 girls and 55 boys. The letter also outlines steps taken by the archdiocese to prevent sexual abuse under a new policy that took effect July 1, including more rigorous background checks of priests, deacons, pastoral administrators, teachers and principals. . . . The archdiocese spent $1,119,000 from 1950 to 2002 in settlements and counseling for victims. The expenses were covered by insurance and by money from the priests themselves. Allegations have been received against six other priests, but due to vague information, anonymous reporting or the person not giving permission for their name to be used, adequate evaluation has not been possible, the report said. One case investigated by civil authorities was rejected for insufficient evidence. Currently, there are no criminal proceedings in process against any of the accused priests, but there are a few civil cases in progress, the report said. . . . (Posted by Kathy Shaw at 06:35 AM) * Springs diocese to train 2,000 against child abuse UNITED STATES: The Colorado Springs Roman Catholic diocese will provide child sexual abuse prevention training to an estimated 2,000 church volunteers by the end of February to fully comply with national standards adopted in response to the clergy abuse scandal, a diocese official said Tuesday. The training was established in response to a recommendation from a team of investigators that spent last fall auditing U.S. dioceses' compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, adopted by U.S. bishops in June 2002. The findings of the national audit are to be released Tuesday, but some dioceses have shared their results in advance. Sergio Gutierrez, spokesman for the Denver archdiocese, which includes 368,000 registered Catholics in 24 northern Colorado counties, said the archdiocese will wait until the national results are made public. . . . Gaffney said the Colorado Springs diocese has been training clergy and staff