angelburst29
The Living Force
This headline makes me totally nauseated Pennsylvania is my home-State. This investigation is one of the main reason's why (former) Attorney General Kathleen Kane was railroaded into stepping down and stripped of her Law License. But her investigation continued. I hope they exonerate her and re-instate her Law License.
August 14, 2018 - Landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report finds more than 300 'predator priests' sexually abused children
Landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report finds more than 300 'predator priests' sexually abused children
A report was released Tuesday from a Pennsylvania grand jury investigation led by the state's attorney general as one of the most expansive probes of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests.
Thousands of pages long, the report reveals the findings of one of the most expansive probes into clerical sexual abuse since an expose of widespread abuse and systematic efforts to cover it up rocked the Archdiocese of Boston nearly two decades ago.
The Pennsylvania report covers 70 years of abuse of children by 300 Roman Catholic priests and how the church sought to cover up the accusations. It follows a nearly two-year-long investigation by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
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. Last month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court allowed the report to go ahead, but with at least some names redacted.
It ordered the report be released by 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
The report begins: "We, the members of this grand jury, need you to hear this. We know some of you have heard some of it before. There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. But never on this scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away. Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere."
In anticipation of the release, Harrisburg's bishop earlier this month released the names of more than 70 clergy members and seminarians accused of sexually abusing children since the 1940s.
The names of the diocese bishops who supervised them, he promised, would be removed from diocesan buildings and "any position of honor" throughout central Pennsylvania.
But at the time, Shapiro said in a statement that the Diocese of Harrisburg had failed to cooperate and "sought to end the investigation entirely."
Since the Boston abuse scandal first erupted in the 1990s, fresh accusations involving American clerics have sporadically surfaced, further tarnishing the church's public image.
Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, resigned in disgrace as a cardinal last month after accusations that he abused a 16-year-old boy decades ago resurfaced.
In recent months, Pope Francis has accepted a flurry of resignations as church sex abuse scandals have erupted from Chile to Argentina.
The dioceses included in the Pennsylvania report, initiated in 2016 under then-Attorney General Kathleen Kane, are Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg.The state's two other dioceses were the subjects of past grand jury investigations — the Philadelphia Archdiocese in 2005 and the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in 2016.
CBS 21 News
✔ @CBS21NEWS
· Aug 1, 2018
The Harrisburg Diocese released a list of clergy accused of sexual abuse going back to the 1940's.https://local21news.com/news/local/harrisburg-diocese-will-waive-confidentiality-agreements-related-to-child-sex-abuse …
CBS 21 News
✔ @CBS21NEWS
THREAD -- List of clergy who served in the Diocese of Harrisburg who were accused of sexual abuse of a child pic.twitter.com/LJWcQBs7xj
10:59 AM - Aug 1, 2018
But at the time, Shapiro said in a statement that the Diocese of Harrisburg had failed to cooperate and "sought to end the investigation entirely."
Since the Boston abuse scandal first erupted in the 1990s, fresh accusations involving American clerics have sporadically surfaced, further tarnishing the church's public image.
Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, resigned in disgrace as a cardinal last month after accusations that he abused a 16-year-old boy decades ago resurfaced.
In recent months, Pope Francis has accepted a flurry of resignations as church sex abuse scandals have erupted from Chile to Argentina.
The dioceses included in the Pennsylvania report, initiated in 2016 under then-Attorney General Kathleen Kane, are Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg.
The state's two other dioceses were the subjects of past grand jury investigations — the Philadelphia Archdiocese in 2005 and the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in 2016.
Read the Full Report Below:
40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury REPORT 1 Interim --Redacted by Rebecca Harrington on Scribd
August 14, 2018 - Pennsylvania priests hid sex abuse "for decades," attorney general says
Pennsylvania priests grand jury report: Child sex abuse hidden by priests "for decades," attorney general says - CBS News
After a two-year investigation, a Pennsylvania grand jury Tuesday alleged decades of abuse of children by more than 300 men described as "predator priests." It relays the accounts of more than 1,000 children, but said there are likely thousands of other victims.
The report says church leaders protected the priests in a cover up that went all the way to the Vatican.
"Priests were raping little boys and girls and the men of god who were responsible for them not only did nothing, they hid it all for decades," said Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
Standing alongside survivors of abuse, Shapiro said the grand jury uncovered credible evidence against 301 priests.
"The time of telling these victims to keep their truth to themselves has ended," he said.
The grand jury investigation goes back 70 years and identified priests in six Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania. Documents from the dioceses own secret archives formed the backbone of the investigation corroborating accounts of alleged sexual abuse and systemic church cover-up, mirroring a worldwide pattern where abusers are moved from parish to parish.
"We should emphasize that while the list of priests is long we don't think we got them all," Shapiro said. "We feel certain that many victims never came forward and that the diocese did not create written records every single time they heard something about abuse."
Nearly 100 of the accused clergy are from the Pittsburgh diocese alone, where Donald Wuerl, the current cardinal of Washington, D.C., was the bishop for 18 years.
CBS News asked if he thinks children are still being abused at the hands of priests in the Catholic church.
"I'm not sure that there's any way to guarantee that there won't ever be a failure in the life of any priest going into the future," he said. "You can't do more than give your very best to try to eradicate a problem."
For the victims, Pennsylvania's statute of limitations make their cases too old to be prosecuted.
"There should be no statute of limitations to bring criminal charges in Pennsylvania when it comes to child sexual abuse," Shapiro said.
The majority of the named priests are dead. Still, as a result of the investigation, two priests have been criminally charged including one who has pled guilty.
Shaun Daughtery says he was molested by his family priest for two years beginning at age 10. He says he's relieved to see his abuser's name in the report.
"I'm free. I mean i'm absolutely free," he said.
CBS News reached out to the Vatican for comment but have not heard back. In the Pennsylvania state legislature, there is a bill on the table that could eliminate the statute of limitations for one year, so any victim could file a civil lawsuit regardless of their age.
August 14, 2018 - Landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report finds more than 300 'predator priests' sexually abused children
Landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report finds more than 300 'predator priests' sexually abused children
A report was released Tuesday from a Pennsylvania grand jury investigation led by the state's attorney general as one of the most expansive probes of child sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests.
- The report is hundreds of pages long and will cover 70 years of abuse of children by over 300 Roman Catholic priests, and how the church sought to cover up the accusations.
- Some of those accused have tried to stop the release of the report but prosecutors, abuse advocates, and news organizations pushed for its release.
- Since the Boston abuse scandal first erupted in the 1990s, fresh accusations involving American clerics have often surfaced.
Thousands of pages long, the report reveals the findings of one of the most expansive probes into clerical sexual abuse since an expose of widespread abuse and systematic efforts to cover it up rocked the Archdiocese of Boston nearly two decades ago.
The Pennsylvania report covers 70 years of abuse of children by 300 Roman Catholic priests and how the church sought to cover up the accusations. It follows a nearly two-year-long investigation by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
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. Last month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court allowed the report to go ahead, but with at least some names redacted.
It ordered the report be released by 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday.
The report begins: "We, the members of this grand jury, need you to hear this. We know some of you have heard some of it before. There have been other reports about child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. But never on this scale. For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away. Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere."
In anticipation of the release, Harrisburg's bishop earlier this month released the names of more than 70 clergy members and seminarians accused of sexually abusing children since the 1940s.
The names of the diocese bishops who supervised them, he promised, would be removed from diocesan buildings and "any position of honor" throughout central Pennsylvania.
But at the time, Shapiro said in a statement that the Diocese of Harrisburg had failed to cooperate and "sought to end the investigation entirely."
Since the Boston abuse scandal first erupted in the 1990s, fresh accusations involving American clerics have sporadically surfaced, further tarnishing the church's public image.
Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, resigned in disgrace as a cardinal last month after accusations that he abused a 16-year-old boy decades ago resurfaced.
In recent months, Pope Francis has accepted a flurry of resignations as church sex abuse scandals have erupted from Chile to Argentina.
The dioceses included in the Pennsylvania report, initiated in 2016 under then-Attorney General Kathleen Kane, are Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg.The state's two other dioceses were the subjects of past grand jury investigations — the Philadelphia Archdiocese in 2005 and the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in 2016.
CBS 21 News
✔ @CBS21NEWS
· Aug 1, 2018
The Harrisburg Diocese released a list of clergy accused of sexual abuse going back to the 1940's.https://local21news.com/news/local/harrisburg-diocese-will-waive-confidentiality-agreements-related-to-child-sex-abuse …
CBS 21 News
✔ @CBS21NEWS
THREAD -- List of clergy who served in the Diocese of Harrisburg who were accused of sexual abuse of a child pic.twitter.com/LJWcQBs7xj
10:59 AM - Aug 1, 2018
Since the Boston abuse scandal first erupted in the 1990s, fresh accusations involving American clerics have sporadically surfaced, further tarnishing the church's public image.
Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, resigned in disgrace as a cardinal last month after accusations that he abused a 16-year-old boy decades ago resurfaced.
In recent months, Pope Francis has accepted a flurry of resignations as church sex abuse scandals have erupted from Chile to Argentina.
The dioceses included in the Pennsylvania report, initiated in 2016 under then-Attorney General Kathleen Kane, are Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg.
The state's two other dioceses were the subjects of past grand jury investigations — the Philadelphia Archdiocese in 2005 and the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in 2016.
Read the Full Report Below:
40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury REPORT 1 Interim --Redacted by Rebecca Harrington on Scribd
August 14, 2018 - Pennsylvania priests hid sex abuse "for decades," attorney general says
Pennsylvania priests grand jury report: Child sex abuse hidden by priests "for decades," attorney general says - CBS News
After a two-year investigation, a Pennsylvania grand jury Tuesday alleged decades of abuse of children by more than 300 men described as "predator priests." It relays the accounts of more than 1,000 children, but said there are likely thousands of other victims.
The report says church leaders protected the priests in a cover up that went all the way to the Vatican.
"Priests were raping little boys and girls and the men of god who were responsible for them not only did nothing, they hid it all for decades," said Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
Standing alongside survivors of abuse, Shapiro said the grand jury uncovered credible evidence against 301 priests.
"The time of telling these victims to keep their truth to themselves has ended," he said.
The grand jury investigation goes back 70 years and identified priests in six Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania. Documents from the dioceses own secret archives formed the backbone of the investigation corroborating accounts of alleged sexual abuse and systemic church cover-up, mirroring a worldwide pattern where abusers are moved from parish to parish.
"We should emphasize that while the list of priests is long we don't think we got them all," Shapiro said. "We feel certain that many victims never came forward and that the diocese did not create written records every single time they heard something about abuse."
Nearly 100 of the accused clergy are from the Pittsburgh diocese alone, where Donald Wuerl, the current cardinal of Washington, D.C., was the bishop for 18 years.
CBS News asked if he thinks children are still being abused at the hands of priests in the Catholic church.
"I'm not sure that there's any way to guarantee that there won't ever be a failure in the life of any priest going into the future," he said. "You can't do more than give your very best to try to eradicate a problem."
For the victims, Pennsylvania's statute of limitations make their cases too old to be prosecuted.
"There should be no statute of limitations to bring criminal charges in Pennsylvania when it comes to child sexual abuse," Shapiro said.
The majority of the named priests are dead. Still, as a result of the investigation, two priests have been criminally charged including one who has pled guilty.
Shaun Daughtery says he was molested by his family priest for two years beginning at age 10. He says he's relieved to see his abuser's name in the report.
"I'm free. I mean i'm absolutely free," he said.
CBS News reached out to the Vatican for comment but have not heard back. In the Pennsylvania state legislature, there is a bill on the table that could eliminate the statute of limitations for one year, so any victim could file a civil lawsuit regardless of their age.