Bishop Richard Malone said that he welcomes the apostolic visitation, which he said was for the good of the church in Buffalo, and said he would cooperate fully.

The report singles out Cardinal Edward Egan, who served as Bridgeport bishop from 1988 to 2000 before becoming cardinal in New York; former Bishop Walter Curtis; and former Bishop Lawrence J. Shehan.

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York said Sept. 30 he was "grateful and relieved" by the report of a comprehensive independent review of archdiocesan compliance with the U.S. bishops' "Charter for the Protection of Child and Young People."

An Australian diocese will pay up towards $2 million (in U. S. dollars) in compensation for a claim filed against a priest for clerical sexual abuse in the early 1990s.

Two more Australian states have passed legislation criminalizing priests who fail to report the abuse of children disclosed during confession.

The University of Notre Dame Sept. 21 released a groundbreaking report that looked at sexual harassment in U.S. Catholic seminaries, revealing that just 6 percent of seminarians reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment or misconduct, while 90 percent reported none.