ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Report: Despite abuse allegations, priests relocate

Officials from the Vatican did not comment about the investigation.
DALLAS (AP) -- An international movement of Roman Catholic priests out of countries where they have been accused of abusing children has continued even after the abuse scandal that swept the U.S. church in 2002, The Dallas Morning News found in a yearlong investigation.
Hundreds of priests accused of abuse have been moved from country to country, allowing them to start new lives in unsuspecting communities and continue working in church ministries, the newspaper reported in today's editions.
The priests lead parishes, teach and continue to work in settings that bring them into contact with children, despite church claims to the contrary, the newspaper said.
Vatican officials declined to comment Friday after an overview of the investigation was featured on National Public Radio.
In one case, the Rev. Frank Klep, a convicted child molester who has admitted abusing one boy and is wanted on more charges in Australia, was placed in Apia, Samoa, in the South Pacific. Australia has no extradition treaty with Samoa.
Father Klep told the newspaper that neither he nor the church feels an obligation to tell anyone about his past. Few, if any, local residents are aware of his history.
"I'd prefer to just leave it," he said. "If I felt I was still a risk to their children, then I'd think differently. But I don't think I am at risk anymore."
The Morning News said Father Klep's order, the Salesians of Don Bosco, has long moved priests accused of sexual abuse from country to country, away from law enforcement and victims.
Influential Salesian officials have spoken out against cooperating with law enforcement agencies investigating sex abuse allegations.