America Magazine: Pennsylvania report documents over 1,000 victims of priest abuse
15. aug.
Michael J. O’Loughlin, America Magazine, skriver bl.a.:
A photo panel shows Pennsylvania Bishops Ronald W. Gainer of Harrisburg, David A. Zubik of Pittsburgh, Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, Alfred A. Schlert of Allentown, Edward C. Malesic of Greensburg and Lawrence T. Persico of Erie. (CNS photo/courtesy of the dioceses)
In an emotional press conference on Tuesday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro unveiled a more than 800-page grand jury reportthat chronicles seven decades of sexual abuse of children by priests in six Catholic dioceses and the “systematic cover up by senior church officials in Pennsylvania and at the Vatican.”
Mr. Shapiro said that his office’s two-year investigation identified 301 priests who abused children and more than 1,000 victims. He said members of the grand jury told him they believe the number of victims is much larger.
He described in detail many of the acts of abuse, saying church leaders had employed euphemisms in the past to cover up what was happening.
“Church officials routinely and purposely described the abuse as horseplay and wrestling and inappropriate contact. It was none of those things,” Mr. Shapiro said. “It was child sexual abuse, including rape, committed by grown men, priests, against children.”
He slammed bishops and other church leaders for thwarting inquiries, protecting priests and acting hostile toward victims.
“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,” Mr. Shapiro said at the news conference in Harrisburg.
“Above all else, they protected their institution, at all cost,” Mr. Shapiro said.
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