PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Craig R. McCoy
Inquirer Staff Writer
The grand jury report on sex crimes within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia yesterday painted unforgiving portraits of Cardinals John Krol and Anthony J. Bevilacqua - as architects of a decades-long cover-up that exalted damage control above the cries of children.
With an unremitting fury, the report dipped deep into the church's secret archive of internal documents to make the case that the two cardinals protected scores of child molesters with clerical collars - enabling many to attack again and again.
It said the pair sabotaged investigations, transferred priests to hide them, made a mockery of abusers' therapy, and punished whistle-blowers - all the while keeping police, victims, parents, parishioners and the public in the dark.
In one church memo, Bevilacqua's aides said the cardinal was open to reinstating an accused abuser as a pastor - after an intervening "distant" posting "so that the profile can be as low as possible and not attract the attention of the complainant."