We may soon learn the scope of priest sex abuse in the Allentown diocese

By Nick Falsone
Express-Times
July 21, 2018

https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/07/we_may_soon_learn_about_the_ex.html

Alfred A. Schlert is ordained as the bishop of Allentown on Aug. 31, 2017, at the cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena. He's the first priest ordained in the Diocese of Allentown to become its bishop. Photo by Saed Hindash

A judge has ordered the release secret grand jury report on allegations of priest sex abuse dating back decades and involving six Pennsylvania dioceses, including the Diocese of Allentown.

Cambria County Judge Norman A. Krumenacker, who has jurisdiction over the grand jury report, gave the order on Friday in a move that could bring an end to a lengthy legal battle over whether the report should be made public.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed a brief arguing for the report's release earlier this month after the state Supreme Court temporarily sealed it.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Friday that the Supreme Court decision was based on objections from 14 lawyers representing individuals named in the report, but not charged criminally. Those names have since been redacted.

The judge wrote in his order that the redacted report does not violate grand jury secrecy and "may be filed and made public in its current form at the discretion of the Supreme Court."

The redacted report had not been released as of Saturday afternoon, but it is expected to reveal details of widespread abuse and efforts to conceal and protect abusive priests at six Pennsylvania dioceses, including Allentown, which administers to Catholics in the Lehigh Valley. 

"Our office continues to fight to ensure this report is released and victims' voices are heard by the people of Pennsylvania," Shapiro said in a statement. "This marks an important step in that process."

Among those publicly calling for the report's release were Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli and Allentown Diocese Bishop Alfred Schlert.

Schlert, an Easton native, last week sent a letter to more than 80,000 households across the diocese. He reiterated that the diocese fully cooperated with the grand jury investigation and has made no attempts to block the release of its report. 

"What is important to understand is that most incidents of abuse in the Allentown Diocese date back decades, and offending priests are either no longer in active ministry or are deceased," the bishop wrote. "In the past, the Church did not always deal with abuse and abusers in the way it does now."