Grand jury: 2 bishops hid sex abuse of hundreds of children

The statewide grand jury investigation, which started in 2014 with a referral from the Cambria County District Attorney’s office, discovered the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown kept a secret archive detailing hundreds of abuse claims against 50 priests and other religious leaders since the mid-1960s, the attorney general says.

Over the years, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown has paid millions of dollars to settle civil lawsuits filed by people who said they were victims of sexual abuse by church officials.

“The heinous crimes these children endured are absolutely unconscionable”, Kane told reporters in unveiling the report, based on a two-year investigation.

“These predators desecrated a sacred trust and preyed upon their victims in the very places where they should have felt most safe”. The grand jury report describes him as a “monster”.

None of the criminal acts detailed in the report can be prosecuted because alleged abusers have died, victims are too traumatized to testify and the statute of limitations on prosecuting cases has expired, prosecutors said.

Of the victims, Kane said: “Their souls were killed as children”.

Thousands of pages of documents and hand-written reports were seized from the diocese during the investigation. “Those with information may contact the office by dialing 888-538-8541, a toll-free, dedicated hotline established for this case”, reads a statement from the Attorney General’s Office. “It proves what we’ve long maintained: that even now, under the guise of ‘reform, ‘ bishops continue to deceive parishioners and the public about their ongoing efforts to hide abuse”.

“The materials included numerous files for priests accused of sexual misconduct”.

The report added: “The grand jury notes that the chilling impact of such a victory lap on the victims of child abuse throughout the diocese is incalculable”.

The report is critical of Bishop James Hogan and his successor, Joseph Adamec.

Hogan, who led the diocese from 1966 to 1986, died in 2005.

Between 5,700 and 10,000 Catholic priests have been accused of sexual abuse in the United States, but only a few hundred have been tried, convicted, and sentenced for their crimes, according to the watchdog Bishop Accountability.

The Altoona-Johnstown report said Hogan covered up abuse allegations by transferring offending priests, including by sending one accused clergyman to a school for boys.

The grand jury probe expanded into a sweeping look at abuse dating as far back as the 1940s.

The grand jury found that Bishop Hogan intervened with police and told them he would send Gaborek to an institution.

Adamec, the retired bishop, did not respond to a request for comment. It said Bishop Adamec or his staff threatened some alleged victims with excommunication. After a month of treatment, Cingle returned to full-time ministry.

During his testimony before the grand jury, Cingle allegedly acknowledged he could have accidentally fondled the boy.

“Bishop Adamec’s handling of abuse allegations has no similarity to other clergy abuse scandals”, his attorney wrote. The matter was never reported to law enforcement.

A monsignor, Francis McCaa, now deceased, is accused of molesting 15 boys.

Ms. Kane also cited “heroic” whistleblower George Foster, a layman who exposed Altoona-Johnstown priest abuse, during the press conference.