"The nation's Roman Catholic bishops and religious orders received 714 claims of clergy sex abuse in 2006, the second consecutive year the number of allegations has dropped, according to a new report on the church's efforts to protect children," the AP reported today.

That much should be expected. Most new complaints are decades old. By now, most accusations against those priests have already been leveled. The AP also reported that the cost of settling cases declined in 2006. That wasn't the case for complaints involving priests with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles -- the country's largest. The archdiocese and a religious order shelled out $10 million to settle with seven people who claimed to have been abused. The Carmelites insurer paid 95 percent of the settlement.

This January, the archdiocese settled 45 cases at a cost of $60 million. Much bigger costs are expected. About 500 cases remain.