Over 200 Catholic priests have been removed from their positions in the United States this year because of allegations of child sexual abuse, according to a survey by the Washington Post.
The article said while 218 priests have been removed from their positions because of allegations, the survey of Catholic dioceses in the US showed at least 34 known offenders remain in church jobs.
The survey also found that at least 850 U.S. priests have been accused of sexual misconduct with minors since the early 1960s, and that more than 350 of them were removed from ministry before this year.
The article said figures are considerably higher than previously disclosed. Catholic officials have said that, as a decentralised institution of autonomous dioceses, the church has no way of compiling such figures.
The report comes as 300 US bishops prepare for a meeting in Dallas this week to decide on a mandatory policy towards priests accused of sexual misconduct.
The survey was contacting each of the nation's 178 mainstream Catholic dioceses. Ninety-six dioceses responded and 82 did not, despite repeated phone calls and e-mail messages.