‘This is for all the kids!’ he yelled as he choked a priest at the altar, Catholic officials say

MERRILLVILLE (IN)
The Charlotte Observer

August 22, 2018

By Lisa Gutierrez

A Catholic priest in Indiana was attacked in his church Monday morning by a man he heard yelling, “This is for all the kids!” church officials said.

The Rev. Basil Hutsko was left unconscious for about 15 minutes after the attack at St. Michael Byzantine Church in Merrillville, Indiana, the Rev. Thomas Loya told WGN in Chicago.

Hutsko said “the attacker grabbed him, choked him and threw him to the ground and knocked him unconscious,” Loya told WGN. “He was wearing gloves. Father Basil does not know who it was, but while he was attacking him, he heard the attacker say, ‘This is for all the kids!’”

Loya said Hutsko believes that was a reference to the recently revealed findings of a two-year grand jury investigation that found Roman Catholic Church leaders in Pennsylvania covered up cases of child sex abuse by priests over several decades.

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