SAGINAW (MI)/PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
Posted by Barbara Dorris on February 27, 2012
A new long-secret Catholic church document has surfaced that says Saginaw Bishop Joseph Cistone witnessed the destruction of a list of 35 clerics who were accused of molesting children.
The document suggests that the late-Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua ordered a cleric to destroy memos which detailed the alleged crimes of sexually abusive priests. To any reasonable observer, if true, this makes Cistone complicit in the Philadelphia cover-up as well. We are disturbed that he is in a position of power now where he could easily use the tactics he learned from his old boss in order cover up current or recent abuse in the Diocese of Saginaw.
We hope that anyone with knowledge of abuse in this diocese will come forward to police and not church officials. It is clear that the church would rather shred evidence than deal with it, and Cistone cannot be trusted to not make the same egregiously reckless decision again.
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