PENNSYLVANIA
The Tablet (UK)
The report identifies priests and other leaders by name and details incidents going back to the 1970s
Child as young as eight among hundreds abused by clergy in Pennsylvania diocese, Jury finds
Hundreds of children were sexually abused over at least 40 years by priests and other religious leaders in a diocese in Pennsylvania, a state-wide grand jury has found.
At least 50 priests or religious leaders were involved in the abuse and diocesan leaders systematically concealed the abuse to protect the Church’s image in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, according to the grand jury report released 1 March by Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane.
The report identifies priests and other leaders by name and details incidents going back to the 1970s. Kane said that much of the evidence revealed in the report came from secret archives maintained by the diocese that were only available to the bishops who led the diocese over the decades.
Victims testified to the grand jury, after local law enforcement officials and district attorneys of several counties approached Kane’s office with information about the abuse in 2014.
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