PITTSBURGH (PA)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
August 20, 2019
By Peter Smith
A Pittsburgh man is suing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and Holy Family Institute, alleging he was subjected to the “torture” of sexual abuse by two priests when he was a boy living at the Emsworth children’s home in the 1970s.
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 16 in Allegheny County and accuses two priests of sexually molesting him on multiple times.
The lawsuit identifies the alleged perpetrators as the Rev. Larry Smith and a “Father Gerdes.”
Father Smith is a retired diocesan priest. A diocesan statement said as of Tuesday morning, it had not been served with the lawsuit, but it said Father Smith would not engage in public ministry until the diocese could learn more about the allegation. Father Smith “categorically denies the allegation,” the diocese said.
The lawsuit doesn’t give a first name for Father Gerdes but claims he belonged to a religious order, the Spiritans (of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit). However, the order’s Province of the United States says it never had a priest with that or a similar name.
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