Priest

The release Friday of national reports on child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church could serve as an alert to some Nebraska members of the church.

So says University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociology professor Hugh Whitt.

Whitt says Nebraskans in general seem to think such abuse may happen in the rest of the country, but not here.

He says the national attention on the report, which includes claims of abuse in Nebraska, could change their minds.

Last week, the Omaha Archdiocese released its contributions to the national report. It showed the archdiocese had 33 credible allegations of sexual abuse against priests and a deacon from 1950 through 2002.