{UAH} Pennsylvania report details 300 priests who molested more than 1,000 children
|
3:01 AM |
No comments |
Rinsing victims' mouths with holy water and making one boy pose as Jesus: Grand Jury reveals the depravity of 301 priests who sexually assaulted at least 1,000 children - which the Catholic church covered up
- The 900 page grand jury report is based on records from six dioceses
- It puts the 'real number' of child victims 'in the thousands'
- One group of priests is accused of producing child porn and using whips on children
- The abuse ranged from groping and masturbation to anal, oral and vaginal rape
- Most of the victims were boys but there are some girls included in the report
- The clergymen tried to claim they were 'wrestling' with the children when they were in fact sexually assaulting them
- Two have been charged while others are either dead, previously faced charges, or can't be prosecuted due to statute of limitation
Covered up abuse: Cardinal Donald Wuerl, seen here last year, is the former longtime bishop of Pittsburgh who now leads the Washington archdiocese. He was accused of helping cover up the abuse
Hundreds of Roman Catholic priests in Pennsylvania have molested more than 1,000 children and senior church officials, including the now archbishop of Washington, D.C., systematically covered up the abuse.
A grand jury report released Tuesday reveals the horrific predatory behavior which included making young boys rinse their mouths with holy water to 'purify' them after they were forced to give oral sex to clergymen and the abuse of one boy who was made to pose naked as Jesus while other priests took pornographic pictures.
The priests would mark out which boys had been groomed for abuse by giving them gold crosses to wear as necklaces.
The 800-page report refers to more than 300 priests in six diocese where children were raped, plied with alcohol, or forced to perform for clergymen to produce pornographic material since the mid-1950s.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former longtime bishop of Pittsburgh who now leads the Washington archdiocese, was among the high-ranking clergy who turned a blind eye to the abuse.
The 'real number' of abused children might be in the thousands since some secret church records were lost, and victims were afraid to come forward, the grand jury said.
SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL LIST
The two priests charged: Rev David Poulson (left) allegedly abused two boys, aged eight and 15, for years. Rev. John Sweeney (pictured right in July 2017) admitted forcing a boy to perform oral sex on him in 1992
Most of the victims are boys but some girls are also included. According to the report, church leaders covered the abusive acts up by claiming priests or clergymen were playing around or 'wrestling' with the children.
'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,' Attorney General Josh Shapiro said at a news conference in Harrisburg.
Shapiro said that one priest had molested five sisters in one family.
One of the sisters, 37-year-old Carolyn Fortney, said: 'It's very lonely.
'Especially when it's your word against God's.'
The diocese settled with the family after requiring a confidentiality agreement, he said.
The attorney general said that Catholic bishops covered up child sexual abuse by priests and reassigned them repeatedly to different parishes.
'They allowed priests to remain active for as long as 40 years,' he said.
Describing the 'weaponization of faith' to silence victims, Shapiro cited several examples including one priest who allegedly told children 'how Mary had to lick Jesus clean after he was born' to groom them for oral sex.
'Children were taught that this abuse was not only normal but that it was holy,' Shapiro said.
Dead and never charged: Because so many of the priests are now dead or their alleged crimes falls outside the statute of limitations, only two have been charged. Pictured: Reverend Donald J. Cooper (left) who died in 2011 and Father Jerome Kucan (right) who died in 2010
Not alive to face consequences: Rev Richard D. Lynch (left) died in April 2000 and Reverend John P. Schanz (right) died in 2010
One cleric, the Reverend David A. Soderlund, was alleged to have had sex with at least three young boys beginning in the early 1980s.
The Allentown Diocese, where he ministered, knew of the allegations, but did not report them to authorities.
'[H]e was an altar boy (7th grade), and David, had a trailer which he kept at the Appalachian Trail Sites in Shartlesville, brought him there almost weekly, over a period of about 5 years, where they engaged in sexual acts,' one of Soderlund's alleged victims told church officials in 1997.
'The victim said, he was not a willing participant, but David threatened to harm or kill him.
'David also took pictures of the victim engaged in sexual acts and threatened to use them to embarrass him.'
Another young girl was raped by a number of priests who later told her that this was God's way of showing love.
A priest in Scranton sexually assaulted an underage girl, impregnated her in the process, and then arranged for her to have an abortion, the grand jury report states.
Victim: Former priest James Faluszczak, who says he was molested by a priest as a teenager, reacts as Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference
Victim's mother: Judy Deaven, who says her son was a victim of sexual abuse by a priest as a boy, reacts as Shapiro speaks during a news conference Tuesday
Shapiro hold hands with Judy Deaven during his news conference in Harrisburg on Tuesday
Shapiro mentioned the story of Father Edward Graff.
During his 35-year stint at the Allentown Diocese, Graff raped 'scores' of young boys, according to the attorney general.
Accused: Erie, PA Catholic Diocese Accused Priest Jan Olowin has now retired
One of his victims, Joey, was so violently raped when he was 7 years old that he suffered injuries to his spine.
Joey became addicted to pain medication, and eventually overdosed and died.
Before his death, Joey wrote a letter to the Allentown Diocese.
In the letter, Joey said Graff killed his potential and the man he could have become.
'The abuse did happen. The grand jurors believed Joey,' Shapiro said to Joey's mother, who was sitting on the stage Tuesday.
But because so many of the priests are now dead or their alleged crimes falls outside the statute of limitations, only two have been charged as a result of the investigation.
'Who would believe me': Victims tell of abuse they suffered at the hands of Pennsylvania priests
'I had my puberty stolen from me, my life stolen'
Robert Mizic
The now 47-year-old, was an alter boy and says he was just 12-years-old when he was abused by a priest.
'It's a horrible way of living. I had my puberty stolen from me, my life stolen,' he said to CBS Pittsburgh.
'That's the true travesty to know that they [the Diocese] knew, and they knew and moved these priests to endanger other children is deplorable.'
Robert Mizic was an alter boy at just 12, when he says he was sexually abused by a priest
'It's your word against God's': Heartache of five sisters abused by the same priest who died as he awaited trial
Carolyn Fortney
Now 37-years-old was abused by Father Augustine Giella, shortly after she was 10-months old in 1982. He also molested her four other sisters.
'The word God just makes me think of him, and I just...' Carolyn Fortney trails off, according to Fox 43. 'I was in my diaper and ran right to him,' she said.
Carolyn Fortney met Father Augustine Giella when she was just 10-months-old, she says the sexual abuse began almost immediately (undated childhood photo, left)
'The real scandal is the abuse was aided and abetted by the hierarchy that protected reputation & money over children'
State Rep. Mark Rozzi, D-Berks
Now 47-years-old, he says the trauma of being raped in the shower at 13-years-old by the late Rev. Edward Graff of Holy Guardian Angels in Reading still strongly haunts him.
Rozzi, who has become an advocate for sexual abuse victims, said during a press conference on Monday ahead of the release of the report, 'I couldn't be more proud of all the victims. Really, it's the collective voice of all these victims that have finally forced the church into a corner.'
State Rep. Mark Rozzi says he was raped in the shower at 13 by late Rev. Edward Graff
'This is the murder of a soul:' former priest who was abused for years as a teen
Former priest James Faluszczak
Now 48-years-old says Rev. Monsignor Daniel J. Martin took the hardships his family was going through in the 1980s and used it against him. He says he was abused from the time he was 16 till the time he was 19 .
Former priest James Faluszczak told the Grand Jury he was molested from aged 16 to 19
He was so violently raped at just seven-years-old he suffered an injury to his spline- now he's dead from an overdose
Joseph Behe
Dead at 45 from an opioid overdoe. He wrote a letter to the Allentown Diocese before his death, saying Father Edward Graff had killed his potential and the man he could have become.
'The abuse did happen. The grand jurors believed Joey,' State Attorney General Josh Shapiro said to Joey's mother, who was sitting on the stage Tuesday.
Joseph Behe, dead at 45 after an opioid overdose, was raped so violently at seven-years-old he suffered an injury to his spine
'Who would have believed me' oldest living accuser says of abuse he suffered in 1947
Robert Corby
The now 83 year-old said the abuse he suffered left him unable to be affectionate with his family and his wife and children have suffered because of it.
'My children I couldn't hold or hug,' he said, adding that his alleged abuser 'took that away from me,' he said during his emotional testimony Tuesday.
'It has an effect on you for the rest of your life. It doesn't ever go away'
Shaun Doherty
The now 48-year-old says he was molested by Priest George Koharchik in 1980.
It would happen with 'Any activity that required a shower afterward,' Dougherty told PennLive. 'He bathed me. He cleaned my entire body.'
What began as tickling led to fondling and by the time Dougherty was 13 to digital penetration, he said.
They are John Thomas Sweeney who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in July. In 1992, he made the fourth grader perform oral sex on him.
The other priest is David Poulson. He was charged in May with indecently assaulting two boys over the course of several years.
One was eight and the other was 15 when he allegedly began abusing them.
As part of the investigation, records from the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton were analyzed.
Combined, the dioceses serviced more than half of Pennsylvania's 3.2million Catholic residents
Shapiro said the two-year probe found a systematic cover-up by senior church officials in Pennsylvania and at the Vatican.
PEDOPHILE PRIESTS WHO WERE SHIELDED BY THE CHURCH
Monsignor Thomas J. Benestad
Monsignor Thomas J. Benestad is one of the 300 clergymen named in the grand jury report.
In 2011, the Allentown Diocese was approached by a man who alleged that Benestad sexually abused him from 1981 to 1983.
The victim was nine years old when the alleged abuse began.
The allegation was reported to the Northampton County District Attorney's Office, which investigated the matter and found that the boy's accusations were credible.
The victim told authorities that when he was a boy enrolled in Catholic school, he was taken out of class by a nun and sent to Benestad's office because he had worn shorts to Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) study.
Since wearing shorts were 'sinful,' the boy was told to get on his knees and start praying once inside Benestad's office.
Benestad then unzipped his pants and told the boy to give him oral sex, the grand jury report alleges.
The boy did so. Afterward, Benestad squirted holy water into the boy's mouth and told him it was to 'purify' him.
No charges were ever brought because the alleged crimes took place beyond the statute of limitations.
Other alleged victims also complained about Benestad, who was allowed to continue to minister.
Benestad, who has denied all of the allegations, is now retired in Boca Raton, Florida.
Reverend Thomas J. Bender
In 1972, the Allentown Diocese received a report from a Deacon who also happened to be a Pennsylvania State Trooper.
The Deacon reported that another Trooper found Bender in a car with a male student from Nativity High School in Pottsville, where the clergyman was assigned.
Both Bender and the boy had their pants off, according to the Deacon.
Thomas J. Welsh, who was the Bishop of the Diocese, received the report. It stated that the Trooper gave Bender a 'lecture and sent him on his way.'
When Bender was confronted about the incident, he claimed this was the first time this had happened. He was allowed to continue as a priest.
In 1984, a young male came forward and told church officials that three years earlier, when he was in seventh grade, Bender sexually abused him.
This abuse entailed oral and anal sex while Bender and the boy were in bed together.
Church officials sent Bender to psychotherapy, but still allowed him to continue to minister.
In 1986, the victim overdosed on drugs and was admitted to a psychiatric institute.
The victim and his family reported Bender to the authorities and filed a lawsuit against the church.
The next year, Bender was placed on a leave of absence. In 1988, he was arrested and convicted.
Bender was given a light sentence of probation. He was kept on a leave of absence until 2002, when he successfully applied for retirement benefits, including health insurance, life insurance, a living allowance, retreat fees, and car insurance.
In 2004, the Diocese received more reports of alleged abuse by Bender. Those allegations, some stemming from as far back as 1966, were reported to the authorities in Pennsylvania.
In 2006, Bender was arrested by an undercover police officer in New York State who posed as a '14-year-old boy' whom the former cleric tried to lure to a hotel room on Long Island.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and lifetime probation. Bender is a registered sex offender in the State of New York.
Father Ronald Yarrosh
In 2004, Father Ronald Yarrosh was found to be in possession of 'a tremendous amount' of child pornography.
A week later, Yarrosh was removed from his priestly ministry and ordered to undergo evaluation and treatment.
In May of that year, Pennsylvania State Police charged Yarrosh with 110 counts of sexual abuse of children.
Yarrosh was found to have had hundreds of child pornography photos, books, magazines, video, and DVDs in his possession, according to the grand jury report.
During a subsequent investigation, Yarrosh was also found to have embezzled $23,000 from his parish.
A year after his arrest, he pleaded guilty to theft and possession of child pornography.
He struck a plea bargain and agreed to serve between three and 23 months in prison.
Yarrosh ended up serving just three months. Upon his release, he registered with Pennsylvania State Police as a sex offender.
After his release from prison, Yarrosh was allowed to continue as a priest.
The Diocese granted him residence at St. Francis Villa in Orwigsburg - even though church officials considered him 'a moderate to high risk to again use pornography and/or consort with prostitutes.'
In November 2006, authorities learned Yarrosh took trips to New York City with a seven-year-old child.
Yarrosh was also found to be in possession of child pornography - a violation of his court-ordered supervision.
Pennsylvania authorities sentenced Yarrosh to four-to-10 years behind bars.
In June 2007, the Diocese removed Yarrosh from the priesthood.
Reverend Joseph Zmijewski
In October 2004, the Allentown Diocese received a complaint from an adult woman who alleged that one of its priests sexually abused her when she was a child.
The victim told the Diocese that she was a member of the St. Mary Greek church in Reading.
She also attended Catholic school at St. Peter.
When she was in ninth grade in 1950, she met Father Joseph Zmijewski.
She said she frequently sought Zmijewski's advice as she was having difficult meeting new friends and being acclimated to a new school.
Zmijewski came recommended by another priest because he was a registered psychologist.
The woman said that Zmijewski recommended that she come to his home in order to be treated with hypnosis.
She agreed to the hypnosis sessions.
The first three sessions did not go well and she was becoming frustrated.
During the fourth session, Zmijewski tried to hypnotize her once more. He told her to undress until she was naked, and she complied.
He then left the room while she was naked and did not return for some time.
After Zmijewski came back into the room, he instructed her to get dressed. She never returned for another session.
The woman kept the story to herself until well into adulthood.
Zmijewski died in 1968.
The Allentown Diocese referred the woman to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, which served the area at the time since there was no Allentown Diocese as of yet.
Very Reverend Henry Strassner
In August 1988, the Allentown Diocese received a complaint from a 19-year-old man who alleged that Father Henry Strassner kissed him four times on the lips 'in the same way a woman would kiss.'
The alleged incident occurred during a counseling session which Strassner administered to the man.
Strassner, when confronted about the incident, first denied knowing the man.
But then he admitted to the claims, saying that he 'did not intend anything sexual.'
Strassner later claimed the victim 'was essentially parentless and I wanted to simply affirm his sense of self-worth.'
He was was sent to see a counselor who then told the Diocese that there was 'a lot more going on here than Father Strassner has admitted.'
In 1991, the Diocese received more complaints about alleged sexual abuse of children at the hands of Strassner.
One victim claimed Strassner molested him on more than one occasion when he was between the ages of six and nine.
The victim also claimed that another priest was involved in the abuse.
Another victims gave a much more detailed description of Strassner's behavior.
The victim's mother invited Strassner to their home after hearing him give a lecture on drugs.
During a counseling session, the victim, who was told to trust Strassner, confided in him.
At one point, Strassner told the victim he needed to 'touch him.'
Strassner then began to masturbate the victim and perform oral sex on him.
After this incident was reported, Strassner was reassigned to a local Catholic high school.
The Diocese possessed documents indicating that between 25 and 30 people complained they were sexually abused by Strassner.
The victims reported post-traumatic stress, drug and alcohol abuse, criminal behavior, and suicidal thoughts in the years after they were assaulted.
Strassner was never removed from his position by the church. He died in 2009.
Reverend A. Gregory Uhrig
In May 2010, a 44-year-old woman submitted a complaint to the Allentown Diocese alleging that Father A. Gregory Uhrig sexually abused her when she was a 13-year-old girl.
The woman said the abuse took place when she was a seventh-grade student at St. Anthony Catholic school in Easton.
She said at the time she was working in the parish answering telephones.
During her time spent in the office, she got to know Uhrig, who was often invited to her family's home for dinner.
Uhrig developed a relationship with the girl, who was suffering at the time from low self-esteem.
The priest would often compliment her as a way of building up her confidence.
The relationship became more physical, as Uhrig would hug her, hold her hands, and at times even kiss her on the lips.
The touching eventually escalated to full-scale groping, as Uhrig cupped her breasts through her clothing.
Uhrig also forced the girl to touch his leg and thigh area. He even pointed out when he had an erect penis.
These incidents took place in the rectory and in Uhrig's car.
The woman said that these incidents contributed to three failed marriages.
The Diocese apparently knew of allegations against Uhrig back in 1995 and reported them to authorities.
But he was never prosecuted due to statute of limitations.
Reverend Bruno M. Tucci
In 1991, the Allentown Diocese received a report from a male who said that he was sexually molested by Father Bruno Tucci when he was 14 years old.
Tucci tickled him and put his hands down the back of his pants, the victim said.
The priest, on a different occasion, unbuttoned his pants and the victim's pants.
Tucci then pulled both his pants and the victim's pants down and forced skin to skin contact.
In order to avoid suspicion, Tucci would tickle the boy in front of his parents.
The victim also said that when his parents were at church for Christmas Eve mass, Tucci took off his pants and 'played with him.'
That same evening, when the whole family was at midnight mass, the victim served at the altar for Tucci.
When the Diocese was told of these allegations, officials confronted Tucci, who confirmed them 'exactly as the victim reported.'
Tucci said it was 'just touching' and that he did not commit 'sodomy.'
Tucci was reassigned to a church position in New Mexico. He was then allowed to return to active ministry as a pastor in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania.
In 1993, the victim told the Diocese he wanted to confront Tucci, who was allowed to continue as a priest.
This outraged the victim.
In 2002, Tucci offered to resign. The Bishop accepted.
That same year, the Diocese received another letter from a man who said that Tucci sexually molested him when he was a minor.
The crimes took place between 1977 and 1978. Tucci responded by saying that he could not recall specific details.
In 2005, Tucci's request for him to be laicized was granted.
Tucci was last known to be a resident in Salisbury, Maryland.
Reverend Andrew Aloysius Ulincy
In 1981, Father Andrew Ulincy was reported to the Bethlehem Police for allegedly fondling a 17-year-old boy's penis after he took a shower in a rectory.
Ulincy is alleged to have offered the boy alcohol. He also offered to 'dry him off' after the shower.
The priest then pinned the boy down on a bed and 'anally penetrated him,' the victim told an investigator working for the Diocese in June 2010.
The police knew of these details in 1981, and Ulincy admitted that the victim was telling the truth.
But no criminal charges were ever filed.
The Diocese was not only aware of the 1981 incident, but another that took place a decade later.
While a group of contractors were renovating St. Joseph church in Frackville, Ulinsky, who was living in the rectory at the time, 'dropped his pants,' in front of a 25-year-old male workers.
Ulinsky was said to be drunk at the time. It is also believed he targeted the male for indecent exposure.
A report was submitted to law enforcement, but nothing came of it after the contractor was paid $2,500.
It wasn't until September 2010 - almost 30 years after the first report of sexual assault - that he was removed from active ministry.
Reverend Thomas C. Kelley
The late Reverend Thomas C. Kelley preferred mutual masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex with men between the ages of 18 and 25.
At least five men came forward to accuse Kelley of inappropriate sexual conduct.
One victim was paid $34,500 as part of a lawsuit in which Kelley was named.
His superiors in the Diocese, upon hearing of one of the complaints against Kelley, sent him to a treatment facility for psychotherapy in 1995.
Kelley was dissuaded from returning to the Erie Diocese because of his past behavior.
Instead, he relocated to Texas, where he was allowed to serve as a minister.
Kelley died in 2005.
Monsignor Thomas Snyderwine
In 1996, a young girl enrolled at St. Boniface Catholic school told a nun that she was forced to take a shower with her godfather, Monsignor Thomas Snyderwine, who proceeded to touch her in ways that made her uncomfortable.
The girl said the incident took place when she stayed overnight five years earlier in Snyderwine's trailer.
Snyderwine bought the girl dresses and showered her with gifts.
The girl's parents asked the nun, Sister Steff, to talk to Snyderwine.
When the nun confronted Snyderwine, she threatened to report him to the Bishop Michael Murphy of the Erie Diocese if the behavior was repeated.
The matter was not revisited until 2002, when news media reports about massive sex abuse and coverups in the Catholic Church were common.
Sister Steff brought up the matter with Bishop Donald Trautman, who said he would speak to the Review Board and later decide on Snyderwine's future.
But Trautman said he was stymied when Sister Steff refused to give him the name of the victim.
The victim, who was now a freshman in college, and her parents had no interest in pursuing the matter.
Snyderwine was also said to have said mass for the family when a relative died.
Trautman eventually decided there was no need to report the issue to authorities.
Reverend Philip A. Altavilla
On December 15, 1998, Father Philip A. Altavilla drove a 13-year-old girl home after she helped as an altar server during midnight mass.
After mass, Altavilla gave the girl alcohol and gave her a ride home. On the way, he pulled the car into an empty parking lot.
Altavilla then swung the girl's legs across his lap, touched her feet, and worked his hands up her thigh towards the girl's vagina.
When the girl told him to stop, he did.
It wasn't until April 2014 that Altavilla was arrested and charged with indecent assault and corruption of minors.
He admitted to authorities that he had fetishes with feet, legs, pantyhose, strangulation, and chloroform.
Soon afterward, he resigned from the Scranton Diocese.
Altavilla 'had admitted to the alleged victim in a consensual phone intercept that he had touched her inappropriately,' according to a letter written by the Diocese.
But the case against him was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired.
A civil lawsuit was brought against Altavilla in 2014. That case was eventually settled.
The Scranton Diocese has encouraged more potential victims of Altavilla to come forward.
Reverend Robert M. Timchak
On December 9, 2008, the Scranton Diocese received an anonymous letter alleging that Father Robert M. Timchak was downloading child pornography.
The Diocese turned over the material that was received to the Pike County District Attorney's Office.
After a police investigation, Timchak was charged with possessing child pornography.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to state prison.
On January 24, 2014, Pope Francis granted dispensation to Timchak.
Reverend W. Jeffrey Paulish
In 2013, Father W. Jeffrey Paulish was caught having sex with a 15-year-old boy on the campus of the University of Scranton.
He was arrested in September of that year and charged by the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office.
Paulish eventually pleaded guilty to corruption of a minor and was sentenced to between eight and 23 months in prison.
The Scranton Diocese urged parishioners who were either aware of similar situations involving Paulish to report them to law enforcement.
Reverend Samuel B. Slocum
Despite a history of inappropriate relationships with young boys and girls going back 30 years, Father Samuel B. Slocum was never reported to the authorities by the Erie Diocese.
In 1980, a fellow priest reported Slocum to a senior church official after it was learned he maintained an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl.
That same year, Slocum was also engaged in inappropriate relations with a 16-year-old boy.
Slocum admitted to the grand jury last year that these relationships gave him 'emotional or sexual gratification.'
He denied touching the girl, but did say that he engaged in physical wrestling, tickling, and touching with the young boy.
Slocum ingratiated himself with the childrens' parents - a practice known as 'grooming' - as a way of gaining their trust and cementing his relationship with the kids.
He was known to have done this with at least four children before he was arrested.
In 2012, he was convicted by a jury of concealment of the whereabouts of a child and corruption of minors.
Slocum told the grand jury that a 14-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl were 'in love' with him and 'wrote him love letter.'
He touched one of the girl's thighs and buttocks, though he insisted it was 'accidental.'
When one of the girls came forward to complain, he 'enlisted the assistance of a third party to apply pressure' and 'have her recant her accusation against him.'
Slocum was also known to have showered another minor with gifts from
Abercrombie and Fitch.
In 1995, the Diocese became aware of an 'unhealthy relationship' Slocum had with a high school senior, including offers of cash, invitations to drink beer, and working with the student late into the night.
The boy's mother was a teacher employed by the Diocese. She submitted a complaint at great risk to her employment.
It wasn't until 2011, when criminal charges were filed against him, did the Diocese remove Slocum from ministry.
'Today, Pennsylvanians can learn the extent of sexual abuse in the dioceses and for the first time we can begin to understand the systematic cover up by church leaders that followed,' he said.
'The cover-up was sophisticated.
'And all the while, shockingly, church leadership kept records of the abuse and the cover-up.
'These documents, from the dioceses' own 'Secret Archives,' formed the backbone of this investigation,' he said at a news conference in Harrisburg.
The abuse ranged from groping and masturbation to anal, oral and vaginal rape.
'Church officials routinely and purposefully described the abuse as horseplay and wrestling and inappropriate conduct.
'It was none of those things. It was child sexual abuse, including rape,' Shapiro said.
The attorney general said that Catholic bishops covered up child sexual abuse by priests and reassigned them repeatedly to different parishes. 'They allowed priests to remain active for as long as 40 years,' he said
During a news conference in Harrisburg on Tuesday, State Attorney General Josh Shapiro said that one priest had molested five sisters in one family. Shapiro is seen above speaking at the podium during a news conference as victims and their families look on
The panel concluded that a succession of Catholic bishops and other diocesan leaders tried to shield the church from bad publicity and financial liability by covering up abuse, failing to report accused clergy to police and discouraging victims from going to law enforcement.
Yet the grand jury's work won't result in justice for the vast majority of those who say they were molested by priests as children.
While the probe yielded charges against two clergymen - including a priest who has since pleaded guilty, and another who allegedly forced his accuser to say confession after each sex assault - the other priests identified as perpetrators are either dead or will avoid arrest because their alleged crimes are too old to prosecute under state law.
'We are sick over all the crimes that will go unpunished and uncompensated,' the grand jury said.
Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl is seen in this file photo. He covered-up the abuse
A page from the 880-page report detailing some of the alleged abuse which took place
Some of the priests' names were redacted after they complained to the Supreme Court about being accused. Their alleged crimes are still described in detail in the report
The document comes at a time of renewed scrutiny and fresh scandal at the highest levels of the U.S. Catholic Church.
Pope Francis stripped 88-year-old Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of his title and ordered him to a lifetime of prayer and penance amid allegations that McCarrick had for years sexually abused boys and had sexual misconduct with adult seminarians.
Among those criticized in the report is Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former longtime bishop of Pittsburgh who now leads the Washington archdiocese, for what it said was his part in the concealment of clergy sexual abuse.
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 said ahead of the report's release that he expected to be criticized in it.
The state Supreme Court had set a Tuesday deadline to publicly release a redacted version of the roughly 900-page report.
Victims of clergy sexual abuse and their family members react as Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference
Victim: Robert Mizic, 47, who says he was abused by his parish priest at a Catholic Church in suburban Philadelphia 35 yeasr ago, tears up as he watches a press conference on the grand jury report investigating sexual abuse within the Church in Pennsylvania at his home in Turtle Creek
Some current and former clergy named in the report went to court to prevent its release, arguing it violated their constitutional rights to reputation and due process of law.
The state Supreme Court said the public had a right to see it, but ruled the names of priests and others who objected to the findings would be blacked out pending a September hearing on their claims.
The high court says it'll consider their claims in September, but in the meantime ordered the report released with the identities of those clergy members concealed.
Shapiro said he wants an un-redacted report to be issued.
'Let me be very clear — my office is not satisfied with the release of a redacted report.
'Every redaction represents an incomplete story of abuse that deserves to be told,' he said.
A number of senior clergy reacted on Tuesday, expressing sorrow and regret over the alleged abuse.
Bishop Lawrence T. Persico, the head of the Diocese in Erie, gave a statement on Tuesday after the release of the grand jury's report.
'I want to express my sorrow and apologize to the victims of sexual abuse that occurred in the Diocese of Erie,' he told WHP-TV in Harrisburg.
Persico said that the diocese was committed to a policy of transparency. He said the diocese would release the names of priests who have been credibly accused of abuse.
The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton, discusses the release of the 40th statewide investigating grand jury clergy sex abuse report that identifies 59 religious leaders in his diocese, during a press conference in Scranton on Tuesday
Erie Catholic Bishop Lawrence T. Persico apologized to the victims and detailed steps the diocese is taking to keep abuse from occurring again. He spoke Tuesday at the St. Mark Catholic Center in Erie
The bishop pledged to turn over all relevant information to law enforcement. Perisco also said that the diocese would offer financial help to those seeking counseling.
'I pledge the following to the victims, the Diocese of Erie will not shroud abusers in secrecy no matter who they are or how long ago the abuse has occurred,' said Persico.
'We have much work to do to build trust where leaders have failed.'
It is noteworthy that Persico was the only bishop who was cited by Shapiro for praise for his handling of the grand jury report.
'His response to the crisis gives me some hope,' Shapiro said of Persico.
'He was was the only one to testify to the grand jury in person.'
Persico said on Tuesday that he did not testify to win the praise of the state attorney general.
'We did what we did because we have to move forward (and) it was the right thing to do,' the bishop said.
The grand jury report names 41 priests who served in the Erie Diocese and who are alleged to have committed a number of sex crimes, including fondling genitals and penetrating the mouths of both young boys and girls, according to PennLive.com.
According to the grand jury, one priest who served in the diocese, Father Chester Gawronski, fondled boys and told them he was giving them a 'cancer check.'
Even though senior diocese officials knew of the allegations, they allowed the alleged offending priests to continue to minister, the grand jury says.
Senior diocese officials, including bishops, 'often dissuaded victims from reporting abuse to police, pressured law enforcement to terminate or avoid an investigation, or conducted their own deficient, biased investigating without reporting crimes against children to the proper authorities.'
Share or comment on this article:
Pennsylvania report of 300 priests who sexually molested 1000 kids
Disclaimer:Everyone posting to this Forum bears the sole responsibility for any legal consequences of his or her postings, and hence statements and facts must be presented responsibly. Your continued membership signifies that you agree to this disclaimer and pledge to abide by our Rules and Guidelines.To unsubscribe from this group, send email to: ugandans-at-heart+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
Related Posts:
{UAH} From CNN: Why South Koreans are flipping out over a US ambassador's mustache- {UAH} From CNN: Washington Post: Trump called top military brass in 2017 a 'bunch of dopes and babies'
- {UAH} ‘Mendacity & lies’: After 19 years America admits to itself that it NEVER could have won war in Afghanistan
- {UAH} Trump admin replaces Michelle’s ‘healthy school lunches’ with pretty suspicious timing
- {UAH} From CNN: US troops were injured in Iran missile attack despite Pentagon initially saying there were no casualties
0 comments:
Post a Comment