HARRISBURG (PA)
Patriot News
January 3, 2019
By Ivey DeJesus
Billing them as “listening sessions,” the Harrisburg Diocese has announced that Bishop Ronald Gainer early this year will hold town hall style meetings to address a host of topics, chief among them the 2018 grand jury report on clergy sex abuse.
Gainer also plans to address the diocese’s response to abuse and its “path forward.”
Janet McNeal, who was recently appointed to oversee the diocese’s youth protection program will also participate in the meetings. McNeal is a retired Pennsylvania State Police captain.
The listening sessions will be held in January and February of 2019.
The Harrisburg Diocese is expected to launch in coming weeks a fund that will financially compensate victims of clergy sex abuse. Harrisburg’s program will operate independently of other dioceses, and will be overseen by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who administered the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund as well as a similar compensation fund for the Archdiocese of New York.
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.