Filings Disclose New Details on Grand Jury Clergy Abuse Probe

By Nathaniel Lash and Craig R. McCoy
The Inquirer
July 10, 2018

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/filings-disclose-new-details-on-grand-jury-clergy-abuse-probe-20180710.html

Bishop Mark Bartchak of The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown (Pa.) leads the "Prayer for Victims and Survivors of Sexual Abuse" service held at St. Andrew Church in Johnstown, Pa. on Monday, May 16, 2016. (Thomas Slusser/The Tribune-Democrat via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

New filings in a suit to stop the release of a Pennsylvania attorney general’s report on clergy sex abuse offer a window into who is seeking to keep the report secret and why.

The documents were made public Friday by the state Supreme Court, which blocked the release of the grand jury report until the appeals could be heard.

The filings list 14 individuals, identified only by initials, and the reasons they are opposing the release of the report. In some cases, they provide details of the abuse allegations made against the unnamed individuals in the report.

For instance, a church official identified as D.D. objected to the charge that he should have informed a school district that a priest was previously the subject of an “abuse or sexual misconduct investigation” involving children. The filing in D.D.’s case said the grand jury’s criticism was based on misreading of the relevant law.