PHILADELPHIA (PA)
National Catholic Reporter
June 4, 2018
By Mark Dent
Pennsylvania State Rep. Mark Rozzi often tells people his emotional trauma doesn’t get better. The memory of a trusted priest at Holy Guardian Angels in Reading raping him in a shower at age 13 haunts him as strongly today as it did years ago, if not worse.
He’s told people about it for years — constituents, media and fellow lawmakers — but the story never felt as powerful and meaningful as it did on a recent occasion when he explained what happened in front of a grand jury in a Pennsylvania courtroom.
“It was very rewarding to get in front of people who were caring and actually listening,” he said, “and can make a difference.”
Rozzi is one of dozens of witnesses to testify over the last two years as the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office completes an investigation into six of Pennsylvania’s eight dioceses. Later this month, the office is expected to release a report of 800-plus pages detailing widespread sexual abuse and cover-ups. The report is to come a few weeks after an Erie priest was indicted for sexual assault and two years after another presentment for the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese was released.
This grand jury presentment will feature information on the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton. The six dioceses have already been given copies of the grand jury report ahead of the public, though they and the Attorney General’s Office have remained mum on the contents.
Pennsylvania has dealt with major sexual abuse scandals before, not only those involving the Catholic Church. The Jerry Sandusky scandal at Pennsylvania State University led to convictions for assault by the former assistant football coach and for cover-ups by three prominent university officials. And recent accusations have been leveled against the now-resigned director of the Cadets, a renowned drum corps based in Allentown.
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