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The report -- commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference and conducted by the Universities of Giessen, Heidelberg and Mannheim -- has taken four years to assemble and will be released in full on September 25.
According to both media outlets, the study says the victims were mostly boys, more than half of whom were aged 13 or younger. Every sixth case involved a rape and at least 1,670 clergy were involved, the report also reveals.
"We know the extent of the sexual abuse that has been demonstrated by the study. We are dismayed and ashamed by it," Bishop Stephan Ackermann said in a written statement to CNN responding to reports of the leak.
Ackermann said in the statement that the aim of the study was to "gain more clarity and transparency about this dark side of our church, for the sake of those affected, but also to see for ourselves the wrongdoings and to ensure this cannot be repeated."
The Catholic Church's response to sexual abuse allegations 02:45
The statement continued: ''It is about a responsible and professional investigation. I am convinced that the study is a comprehensive and thorough survey that provides figures and analysis from which we will continue to learn. This also applies to the findings, which provide a deeper insight into the perpetrators' actions and the behavior of church leaders in recent decades. Again, I emphasize: The study is a measure that we owe not only to the Church, but above all, and first and foremost, to those affected.''
The Bishop also said it was regrettable that the report was made public "as not even the members of the German Bishops' Conference know the full study."
While I give them at least a little credit for finally doing a real investigation it does make you wonder if this report would have ever truly seen the light of day if left to the church decision makers. Their past record is clearly not the greatest to put it mildly.