NEW YORK -- The nation's Catholic bishops and religious orders received 714 clergy sex-abuse claims in 2006, the second consecutive year the number of allegations has dropped, according to an annual report commissioned by bishops.

Costs related to abuse cases also decreased, the report found, with dioceses and religious orders paying nearly $399 million in 2006 for settlements with victims, attorney fees and support for accusers and offenders. For 2005, the figure was $467 million.

Catholic leaders say abuse-related costs have exceeded $1.5 billion since 1950. More than 13,000 molestation claims have been filed against clergy since then.

"The decline in reported cases is good," said Aymond of Austin, Texas. "But the fact that there are any recent cases at all is very disconcerting."

The report says 43% of the claims involved priests who had not been accused of abuse before. Most of those accused are dead, missing or already have been removed from church work or the priesthood, making the new allegations difficult to prove.

David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the findings show the need for state lawmakers to extend statutes of limitation on prosecuting child sex abuse.

William Gavin, president of the Gavin Group, a consulting firm that conducted an accompanying audit, noted in the 2006 report that no personnel files were reviewed and "the auditors had to rely on the truthfulness and integrity of those furnishing the information."

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