PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Bucks County Courier Times
J.D. Mullane
It was sad to see the hollow performance of Philadelphia Archbishop Justin Rigali as the predator priest scandal swept over him.
Accompanied by legal counsel and whispering aides, he appeared defensive and small at a press conference last week.
You only have to read the findings in a grand jury report released last week by Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham to know why.
It's stunning.
Using subpoenaed documents from the archdiocese's "Secret Archive" files, the report shows how some 60 priests sexually molested more than 100 minors and children over the last 50 years.
It shows how Rigali's predecessors, the late Cardinal John Krol and retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, engaged in a "cover-up," moving pedophiles and serial molesters from parish to parish, even when both knew that the priests were preying on kids.