History of Priest Abuse in Altoona

By Emma Catalano
WTAJ
October 17, 2018

https://www.wearecentralpa.com/news/history-of-priest-abuse-in-altoona/1531616939

To understand how wide this abuse within the Catholic Dioceses spans, you really have to look at where it all began.

The first reports that stemmed a further investigation and pushed for change to the current Statute of Limitations came after allegations against priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese.

The first reports of abuse publicly happened back in March of 2016.

Then Attorney General Kathleen Kane, announced a grand jury report found that at least 50 priests in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese abused hundreds of children for decades and clergy leaders had covered it up.

That investigation began in 2014 when the Cambria County District Attorney reported her findings to the attorney general's office.

Since then, bigger investigations into the Catholic Church began and lead to a grand jury investigation into dioceses across Pennsylvania.

That report came out this past August.

It detailed abuse by more than 300 predator priests within six Catholic Diocese and gave recommendations to new measures to prevent it from happening again including calls to make changes to the statute of limitations.