Grand Jury Report Identifies Offenders In Catholic Church Abuse Case

For those alleging abuse in the 1970s, that means two years from when it happened.

“Monsignors, auxiliary bishops, bishops, archbishops, cardinals have mostly been protected; many, including some named in this report, have been promoted”.

So far only two new priests are being charged with crimes that fall within the statute of limitations.

Some of those accused have tried to stop the release of the report, saying it would unfairly damage their reputations, but prosecutors, abuse advocates and news organizations pushed for its release.

The crisis in Chile is just one case in a new wave of abuse-related revelations that have raised pressure on Francis to deal more forcefully with abuse.

The report cites 99 priests in Pittsburgh’s diocese alone, and of those 99 a group of four groomed and violently sexually assaulted young boys, Shapiro said.

In Tuesday’s statement, the bishops thanked the victims of sexual abuse for coming forward with their testimony.

Other methods included covering costs of victims related to medical and psychological care and settlements to victims with the signing of a confidentiality agreement.

A long series of abuse allegations have rocked the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics since the scope of systemic abuse and cover-ups began emerging in 2002. Wuerl, one of the highest-profile cardinals in the United States, released a statement Tuesday that said he had “acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse”. He has been removed from public ministry, as of June 20, and is awaiting a Vatican trial. The grand jury also examines the cover-ups of those acts by senior church officials by moving those priests to other parishes in order to avoid prosecution by law enforcement.

“They claimed to have changed their ways”, he said.

The report names 301 abusive priests, but the grand jury received files on more than 400, Shapiro said, adding, “We don’t think we got them all” because not all allegations were documented by the church.

The Harrisburg Diocese earlier this month identified 71 priests and other members of the church who had been accused of child sex abuse.

The introduction of the report provides several examples of how the dioceses investigated ignored allegations or even praised priests accused of sexual abuse.

What did Cardinal Wuerl say?

Connare said he did not believe he needed to inform the pastor because “Dellamalva had been to treatment and was reportedly dealing with his issues”.

The entire almost 900 page report can be found by visiting a page on Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s website. “Such a focus detracts from the shared goals of protection and healing”.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, seen here a year ago, is the former longtime bishop of Pittsburgh who now leads the Washington archdiocese. “I don’t feel very comfortable with Wuerl voting for the next pope if that opportunity arises in the next few years”, said Terry McKiernan, founder and president of the organization Bishop Accountability.

Mizic says in his case, the abuse started as sexual, then it was physical and emotional.

“As a effect of the coverup, nearly every instance of abuse we found is too old to be prosecuted”, the report said.

“Allow these experts to “diagnose” whether the priest was a pedophile, based largely on the priest’s ‘self -reports, ‘ and regardless of whether the priest had actually engaged in sexual contact with a child”, the report said.

The report identifies 59 priests in the Diocese of Scranton, 45 priests in the Diocese of Harrisburg, and 37 priests in the Diocese of Allentown as child sexual abusers. It was 1988, his first year as bishop.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former longtime bishop of Pittsburgh who now leads the Washington archdiocese, said ahead of the report’s release that he expected to be criticized in it.

But, when allegations could not be satisfactorily established, many of these were given administrative positions in the diocesan chancery, something which would be considered inappropriate under current standards. One pleaded guilty and the other was found guilty and both sentenced to years in prison; the third evaded charges due to a statute of limitation expiration.

Perhaps most notably, Wuerl went all the way to the Vatican to fight an order that he reinstate Anthony J. Cipolla – and won. Rome eventually reversed its position and upheld Wuerl’s decision.