PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Daily Local
MICHAEL CRIST, Staff Writer 09/22/2005
PHILADELPHIA -- The leaders of the Philadelphia Archdiocese -- including two former archbishops -- actively concealed sexual abuse by priests for decades, but no criminal charges can be brought against the church or its priests because of the constraints of state law, according to grand jury findings released Wednesday.
Following the nation’s longest-running grand jury probe into priest abuse, the scathing report documents assaults on minors by more than 60 priests since 1967, and alleges that former archbishops Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua and Cardinal John Krol covered up the abuse.
Two of those priests included in the inquiry, who had committed abuses, have ties to Chester County. Another former high-level archdiocese official with local ties was also documented as helping to keep abuses under the public radar.
"To protect themselves from negative publicity or expensive lawsuits -- while keeping abusive priests active -- the cardinals and their aides hid the priests’ crimes from parishioners, police and the general public," the report stated.
Cardinal Justin Rigali issued a response to the report Wednesday, saying the church will do all it can to protect minors.