'Catholic community enforces strict policies': Church lobby group responds to news of investigation into priest abuse

By Ivey Dejesus
PennLive
September 16, 2016

http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/09/diocese_investigation_sex_abus.html

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference says the faith community enforces strict policies to ensure the safety of children in all church property. The organization was responding to news that the state Attorney General's office is conducting an ongoing investigation into clergy sex abuse. Photo by Daniel Zampogna

Pennsylvania's Catholic community enforces strict policies to ensure all children are safe on church property - particularly from child sex abuse.

That was the message from the spokeswoman for the legislative branch of the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania on Friday.

In a statement regarding news that the state Attorney General's office has been conducting for months a grand jury investigation into allegations of child sex abuse across the state's dioceses, Amy Hill, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, reiterated that the "Catholic community" maintained strict policies to ensure the welfare of all children on church property. The church, she noted, also offers assistance to survivors and their families such as counseling, addiction treatment, medication, and transportation.

"We will continue to offer assistance to enable healing as long as it is needed," Hill said in a written statement.

News that the state Attorney General's office was conducting a statewide probe into allegations of child sex abuse across the Catholic dioceses was first reported by The Morning Call. On Friday, the Harrisburg Diocese confirmed to PennLive that it was one of the diocese's under investigation by the agency. Others include Pittsburgh and Allentown, two of the biggest dioceses in the state.

The investigation was launched in the wake of the grand jury investigation report into systemic abuse of children and its cover up in the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese. The report, issued in March, found that more than 50 priests - among them church officials - had for decades enabled and covered up the sexual abuse of hundreds, possibly thousands of children.

Harrisburg diocese under investigation; police called to office of state representative who testified to investigators

Some of the witnesses called to testify to investigators told PennLive on Friday that they expect the findings from the current investigation to dwarf those out of Altoona-Johnstown.

Hill said that the he Catholic dioceses across the state all enforce "a one-strike-you-are-out policy" for clergy, employees and volunteers who are credibly accused of abuse. Law enforcement is immediately alerted to an allegation of abuse, she added.

"Past allegations have already been reported to local district attorneys," Hill said. "Every credible allegation of misconduct results in permanent removal of clergy from ministry, no matter how long ago the abuse took place. Every adult who interacts with children, including clergy, employees and volunteers, is subject to complete background checks and must undergo training for mandated reporting and abuse prevention."

Over the years, PennLive has reported on allegations of abuse in the Harrisburg Diocese. Joe Aponick, a spokesman for the diocese, says the priests that have been named in allegations have either all died or the alleged abuse happened in other dioceses - some out of state.

A spokesman for the Attorney General's office on Friday said that while he could neither confirm nor deny to investigation, the office had been following up on the growing number of reports of allegations called in to state hotline for reporting abuse, which was established immediately after the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese report was issued.

"We expected the Attorney General's office would follow up on calls it received on its hotline from sexual abuse survivors around the state," Hill said. "We encourage survivors of child sexual abuse – no matter when or where it occurred – to contact authorities and report it. Please reiterate that anyone who is a survivor of abuse by someone in the Catholic Church and who is not already receiving support for his or her healing to please contact their local diocese. We want to be sure everyone who wants help has access to support resources."