Pa Supreme Court Halts Diocese Findings after Hearing from Those Mentioned in Reports

By Maria Miller
WJAC 6
June 25, 2018

http://wjactv.com/news/local/pa-supreme-court-halts-diocese-findings-after-hearing-from-those-mentioned-in-reports

We're hearing more Monday from the state's high court after its decision last week to block the release of grand jury findings in six Roman Catholic dioceses across the state.

The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court says that many people named in the report have lodged challenges. In fact, the court says the overseeing judge, Norman Krumenacker III, gave individuals named until June 22 to come forward to submit their own responses to allegations within the report.

Because the attorney general's office did not oppose a temporary or brief stay on releasing the reports, the state Supreme Court says it decided to temporarily block the results in order to give itself time to hear petitions of those named. It's not clear how long the stay will continue.

The investigation included the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg, Greensburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton.

The entire Supreme Court decision can be viewed on the Pennsylvania courts website.

Last week, the Diocese of Erie released a statement saying, “As demonstrated from the recent revisions to our Policy for the Protection of Children, we are committed to transparency. We anxiously await the Supreme Court’s decision on this matter, and support the release of the report which will give victims a voice. Until the report is released, we will continue our efforts to identify abusers and provide counseling and assistance to victims."