PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona Mirror
Editorial
A year ago today — March 1, 2016 — Catholics of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese experienced a tidal wave of shock, sadness, anger and feelings of betrayal in response to a state grand jury report alleging that hundreds of children had been sexually abused by about 50 priests over more than 40 years in the local diocese.
The grand jury report, delivered in Altoona by then-Attorney General Kathleen Kane, also exposed the horrific finding that two former diocesan leaders — Bishops James Hogan and Joseph Adamec — had covered up priests’ wrongdoing or warded off inquiries about that wrongdoing.
While, 12 months later, the blockbuster revelations no longer are a topic of daily conversation and news reports, what the grand jury uncovered remains planted firmly in Catholics’ feelings and emotions, and many of those Catholics remain troubled about what might come next.
During her presentation, Kane described the report as providing a “day of reckoning” for those whose wrongdoing the report detailed. Looking ahead, the biggest question mark centers on whether similar days of reckoning might be forthcoming for the Dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton.
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