PENNSYLVANIA
University of Pennsylvania
Media Contact:Amanda Mott | ammott@upenn.edu | 215-898-1422
November 2, 2015
Marking the 10-year anniversary of the largest of three grand jury reports, a panel hosted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society reflected on the “Ramifications of the Philadelphia Grand Jury Report on Child Sex Abuse in the Archdiocese: Lessons Learned and Lessons Spurned” was held on Oct. 28.
When word that Pope Francis would visit Philadelphia this fall reached students in John J. DiIulio Jr.’s Religion and Public Policy class last spring, there was excitement. The announcement focused the students’ attention on the Catholic Church, and the idea for the panel on the Philadelphia grand jury reports on child sex abuse in the Philadelphia Archdiocese grew from there.
DiIulio, the faculty director of PRRUCS and the Frederic Fox Leadership Professor of Politics, Religion and Civil Society in the School of Arts & Sciences, moderated the panel of four; Lynne Abraham, former district attorney of Philadelphia, who issued the 2005 report; the Rev. William Byron, professor of business and society at Saint Joseph’s University; Marci Hamilton, Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University and a PRRUCS Resident Senior Fellow; and Maureen S. Rush, vice president for public safety and superintendent, Penn Police Department.
Speaking to an audience of students, family members of victims, victim advocates and others, DiIulio began the 80-minute discussion summarizing the three reports.
Beginning with the 2003 Philadelphia grand jury report that outlined evidence of 120 priests and hundreds of victims, the 2005 version showed more evidence of abuse. It also showed that Philadelphia Archdiocese officials, including Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua, had excused and enabled the abuse and had been involved in a cover-up. A grand jury report in 2011 found that, while the church was slightly more willing to work with authorities, there was little evidence of any change and abusers remained on duty.
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