PENNSYLVANIA
Catholic League
Bill Donohue comments on a proposal by Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Rozzi:
Pennsylvania lawmaker Mark Rozzi’s colleagues ought to call him out immediately for his demagoguery: he wants to use the taxpayer’s money to investigate every diocese in the state for possible sexual abuse crimes. He does not want to target any other institution—just the Catholic Church. If he were seriously concerned about the issue of sexual abuse, he would call for an investigation of all public and private institutions. His real interest, however, is sticking it to the Catholic Church, not protecting minors.
Rep. Rozzi’s grandstanding is inspired by a grand jury’s revelation that the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown improperly dealt with past cases of priestly sexual abuse. Not surprisingly, this expedition started because of alleged abuse at a Catholic high school in that diocese. This alone merited a sweeping look at abuse dating back to World War II.
Anyone who knows anything about the subject of the sexual abuse of minors knows that there is not a single demographic group, or institution, that has not had a lousy record of dealing with this problem. Swimming coaches, camp counselors, Boy Scouts, psychologists, public school teachers, rabbis, ministers, Hollywood producers—all have a sordid past. So why is it that only the Catholic Church is fingered?
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