PHILADLEPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer
Cardinal Justin Rigali said yesterday that Catholics should avoid reading the district attorney's grand jury report, which accuses past leaders of the Philadelphia Archdiocese of covering up years of sexual abuse by priests.
Its "prolonged explanations of the abuse" are "very graphic," the Roman Catholic archbishop said in an interview at his Center City office yesterday.
The 418-page report, released Wednesday by District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, also "gives a very slanted view" of how the archdiocese now handles sex-abuse cases, he said.
"I don't think it's of value to families," Rigali said.
The report blasted former leaders of the archdiocese for allowing dozens of priests to abuse hundreds of children during the last 35 years.
It harshly rebuked Rigali's predecessors, Cardinals Anthony J. Bevilacqua and John Krol, for allegedly "burying" abuse reports, concealing crimes, and reassigning abuser priests to parishes where their sexual appetites were unknown. The report listed 63 known abusers who served in the archdiocese.