JOHNSTOWN (PA)
Tribune Democrat
May 14, 2019
By Dave Sutor
Back in 2014, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown announced plans to sell the bishop’s residence in Blair County.
An acknowledgment was made that some undefined amount of money was needed because of costs associated with legal matters involving clergy sexual abuse. The decision was also presented as a choice by Bishop Mark Bartchak to live in simpler accommodations at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament’s rectory.
At the time, the extent of the financial impact of Altoona-Johnstown’s scandal was not really known outside of the diocese’s inner-most circle, excluding a few instances, such as a settlement in the Michael Hutchinson v. Rev. Francis Luddy case.
But now, a half-decade later, the sale of the property might have been a foreshadowing of the fate that awaits the state’s seven other dioceses – Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton – as they attempt to deal with compensating victims.
All of those dioceses started funds that run during different time periods in 2019.
The programs were established after Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro released a grand jury report in August that provided details about decades of sexual abuse and coverup in six of the commonwealth’s dioceses.
Many unknowns remain, though, concerning what will be the total financial impact to the dioceses, including whether any will need to sell off assets.
“The question is who they’re going to pay and how much,” said Richard Serbin, a Blair County attorney who has represented hundreds of victims of clergy sexual abuse in the state. “And what is the limit and what is the minimum. We don’t know any of that. None of that is transparent.
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