PA - Grand Jury Report, Sexual abuse of over 1,000 children by over 300 Catholic priests

[Betty P]

The Grand Jury report has been released detailing the long investigations and deliberations on sexual abuse of over 1,000 children by Catholic priests in the following Dioceses:

Diocese of Erie
Diocese of Pittsburgh
Diocese of Harrisburg
Diocese of Allentown
Diocese of Greenburg
Diocese of Scranton

Here's a link to the CNN article

Pennsylvania priests' sexual abuse detailed in grand jury report - CNN

Link to the Grand Jury report (Trigger Warning: Graphic descriptions of abuse.)

http://media-downloads.pacourts.us/InterimRedactedReportandResponses.pdf?cb=22148

I only read the first few pages and had to take a break. It catalogues abuse that goes back many years.

Let's hope and pray this is the end of it. Prayers for the victims and their families

 

[PaulR]

Let's hope and pray this is the end of it.

It isn't. Not even close. Jim Clemente (former FBI profiler) has said that many, many documents have either been destroyed or taken back to Vatican City using diplomatic pouches. Nobody has any real idea how far this goes.

 

[Betty P]

It isn't. Not even close. Jim Clemente (former FBI profiler) has said that many, many documents have either been destroyed or taken back to Vatican City using diplomatic pouches. Nobody has any real idea how far this goes.

I noticed the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was not included in the GJ investigation. For some reason, they weren't investigated. According to the Archbishop, they are dealing with the issue just fine.

Philadelphia archbishop offers message in wake of priest abuse report

It is important to note that the recent Grand Jury did not investigate the Archdiocese of Philadelphia or our clergy. Therefore we are not part of the report.

The work undertaken in Philadelphia over the past 15 years has resulted in dramatically safer environments for all those in our care.

That seems odd.

 

[PaulR]

More like payoff.

Maybe we should start asking suspected criminals if they are guilty. If they say no, we can just take their word for it. Especially child molesters, they'd have no reason to lie.

 

[Hazelnutty]

Appalling . Disgusting. Shameful. Evil.

My heart aches for the children who endured the worst kind of abuse by men they were taught to trust.

Hell surely has front seats for the priests of the Catholic churches who have taken advantage of innocent little children.

 

[Jax49]

I've made it thru 200 pages so far - truly damning.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I noticed the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was not included in the GJ investigation. For some reason, they weren't investigated. According to the Archbishop, they are dealing with the issue just fine.

Philadelphia archbishop offers message in wake of priest abuse report



That seems odd.

They were and a damning report was issued in January of 2011. The conviction on an administrator that helped cover up, Monsignor William Lynn, set precedent in the state, and was the basis for convicting the form Penn State president, Spanier, in the Sandusky case.

I've attached the presentment.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I'm not Catholic, but the priest in the town where I grew up was identified as one of the molesters; I knew him, slightly. I wonder if any of my grade school classmates were molested by him.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

The 6th diocese in PA, the Altoona Johnstown Diocese was also investigated. A grand jury report was issued in 2016. It is similar in content. I can to attach the report, because it is too large.

I lived in that diocese in my 20's, have friends that attended Bishop McCort High School that were when the principal was one of the abusers. I have known several of the lawyers that, as assistant district attorneys, did not prosecute pedophile priests.

Considering that I am PSU alumnus, these revelations have cast a shadow over the first 30 years of my life. I will never be able to think about those times, without the thoughts of a pedophile, with a name and a face that I would recognize, lurking out there.

 

[Jax49]

Washington cardinal entangled in two sex-abuse scandals | Daily Mail Online

• The Vatican has expressed 'shame and sorrow' over report which found that 301 priests in the state had sexually abused minors over the past 70 years
• Report alleges that more than 300 priests abused more than 1,000 children in six Pennsylvania dioceses — including 99 priests from the Diocese of Pittsburgh
• A Pennsylvania grand jury accused Cardinal Wuerl of helping to protect abusive priests when he was Pittsburgh's bishop from 1988 to 2006
• The grand jury accused senior church officials, including Wuerl of systematically covering up complaints
• He also faces skepticism over insistence he knew nothing about years of alleged sexual misconduct by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in Washington DC
• McCarrick is accused of sexually abusing young priests, and spent nearly 20 years molesting a young boy beginning when the child was 11
• Wuerl said Catholics need to help victims but has not addressed allegations against himself

The Vatican has expressed 'shame and sorrow' about the scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report and decried the abuse as 'criminally and morally reprehensible.'

In uncharacteristically strong language for the Holy See even in matters like the long running abuse scandals staining the U.S. church, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said that victims should know 'the pope is on their side.'

 

[Elley Mae]

The long-awaited grand jury report was full of vivid examples of horrendous abuse. In one such example, a young girl was raped by a priest visiting her while she was in a hospital following surgery to remove her tonsils. In another, a priest tied up a victim with a rope in a confessional booth, and when the victim refused to perform sex, the priest assaulted him with a crucifix.

Vatican in ‘shame and sorrow’ over abuses in Pennsylvania

 

[Betty P]

The 6th diocese in PA, the Altoona Johnstown Diocese was also investigated. A grand jury report was issued in 2016. It is similar in content. I can to attach the report, because it is too large.

I lived in that diocese in my 20's, have friends that attended Bishop McCort High School that were when the principal was one of the abusers. I have known several of the lawyers that, as assistant district attorneys, did not prosecute pedophile priests.

Considering that I am PSU alumnus, these revelations have cast a shadow over the first 30 years of my life. I will never be able to think about those times, without the thoughts of a pedophile, with a name and a face that I would recognize, lurking out there.

I wish they would convene a grand jury for all the cases in Ohio. They did some scattered investigations back in the early 2000's, but most of the prosecutors and judges in these areas were Catholic and were very reluctant to pursue investigations vigorously. There wasn't much follow up, just a purging of a few of the guilty clerics. None of the higher ups who covered up abuse were held accountable. The few investigations that did happen in Ohio revealed some very disturbing crimes. Looking at this database, it's shocking to see how many abusers were outed in Steubenville, OH, a fairly small town.

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It seems like the Ohio investigations were pretty much based on reports from victims who went to the news media. I don't think there was any kind of independent, systematic review of the records and there certainly wasn't any community outreach to offer safe haven to victims who hadn't reported abuse. The investigations in Ohio were done internally, by the Catholic Church, not by prosecutors or the courts.

To be fair, this kind of sexual abuse happens in other religions in the US. All churches, including non-denominational ones, need to clean house.

ETA: There was conflict among the prosecutors & judges in my area back in the early 2000's when the news media began writing about abuse. Nearly all of the county prosecutor's office and most of the judges were Catholic. There were some big "conflicts" between prosecutors and judges who wanted to vigorously pursue more investigation and charges.

 

[MicheleT]

Ex-priest accused of sexual abuse got Disney job with help from Catholic Church, grand jury finds
The Church gave him a glowing review. He was already accused of molesting one boy at that time.

The ex-priest, Edward Ganster, left the priesthood in 1990, moved to the Orlando area and went on to work at Disney World before he died in 2014.

 

[PaulR]

Why the Roman Catholic Church still struggles with sexual abuse scandals

Good article. Let's look at this Bishop.

• Bishop Ronald Gainer wrote a letter to the Vatican in 2014 recommending an accused priest not be removed from the priesthood, and be permitted to live out his life "without risking public knowledge of his crimes."
• Bishop Ronald Gainer tried to shut down the Grand Jury investigation in 2016.
• Bishop Ronald Gainer held a "mass of forgiveness" on August 17, three days after the Grand Jury report came out. I have no idea what a forgiveness mass is, but if he wants forgiveness for being pro-pedophile, I have one word for him: no.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Respectfully snipped:

• Bishop Ronald Gainer wrote a letter to the Vatican in 2014 recommending an accused priest not be removed from the priesthood, and be permitted to live out his life "without risking public knowledge of his crimes."

In this, there are some extenuating circumstances for the bishop's action.

1. While not removed from the priesthood, he had been suspended, i.e. unable to serve as a priest, for 20 years; the suspension occurred well before Gainer became bishop. The priest was not in a position to threaten children during that time.

2. The suspended priest was 88 years old and in poor health. It was fairly evident that he was not going to be around too much longer. He did, in fact, die in 2016, I think.

I am not certain of the length of time needed for the formal process, which includes a church trial, but it may take several years. It would even be possible that the priest may not competent to stand trial in a criminal court at that point.

Unlike most of the actions described in the presentment, I can at least understand this one.

 

[Betty P]

Sex Abuse Report Lists a Beloved Pastor, and a Pennsylvania Church Reels

 

[PaulR]

Pennsylvania AG: Cardinal under scrutiny over report on priest abuse 'is not telling the truth' - CNNPolitics

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is accusing Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, of "not telling the truth" as he attempts to defend himself amid criticism and calls for his resignation over the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing allegations of widespread predatory behavior by more than 300 priests against more than 1,000 children.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Pennsylvania AG: Cardinal under scrutiny over report on priest abuse 'is not telling the truth' - CNNPolitics

I couldn't quote your full message so only the the link is posted. Sorry for the snipping.

Only Zula looks like it might be justified, at least partly.

 

[Jax49]

Pope addresses latest sexual abuse claims in letter - CNN

Pope Francis has acknowledged "with shame and repentance" the Catholic Church's failure to act on allegations of sexual abuse by clerics against minors going back decades, writing "we showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them."

In an unusually blunt letter released by the Vatican on Monday, the Pope wrote, "I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons.

 

[Jax49]

Read Pope Francis’ letter on abuse