PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
August 22, 2018
By Adam Smeltz
The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh has fielded about 50 allegations of abuse over the past week, after a grand jury report drew international attention to child sexual abuse by Pennsylvania priests, the diocese said Tuesday.
The claims appear to be new and came “from people who had not previously contacted us,” delivered through an abuse hotline established by the church and via email, said the Rev. Nicholas S. Vaskov, a diocese spokesman.
“All of the allegations are from prior to 1990 and go back as far as the 1940s,” Father Vaskov said in a statement. “We are taking all of them seriously and following our regular process for responding to them.”
That protocol includes pulling accused clergy from ministry if they’re still on the job. The diocese didn’t immediately say whether the new reports involve active clergy, but each allegation will be turned over to prosecutors in the county where the abuse is alleged, Father Vaskov said.
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