PENNSYLVANIA
PennLive
By Christian Alexandersen | calexandersen@pennlive.com
Communities are still reeling after a report detailed the rape of hundreds of children by more than 50 priests from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.
State Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced this week that a statewide grand jury had found sexual abuse taking place within the diocese for the last 40 years. The report included graphic descriptions of children being abused by priests and religious leaders.
The grand jury, which had been investigating the issue for two years, gathered evidence that revealed a history of diocesan officials taking action to conceal child abuse as part of an effort to protect the institution’s image. Through its investigation, more than 115,000 documents were uncovered.
Also uncovered was the existence of a “secret archive,” with documents showing that Diocese bishops James Hogan and Joseph Adamec were at the forefront of a child-abuse cover-up.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.