Judge backs disclosure in church abuse case

By Tim Darragh
Morning Call
July 21, 2018

https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/judge-backs-disclosure-in-church-abuse-case-1.2364321

The judge overseeing the grand jury that investigated sex abuse in six Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses ruled Friday that legal briefs containing “specific factual findings” of individuals named in an investigative report may be made public.

Lawyers representing unnamed priests and possibly other individuals named in the grand jury’s report, which is expected to catalog decades of sexual abuse of children by clergymen, sought to block release of a brief filed by Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office.

They argued the brief, even though redacted, violates grand jury secrecy and includes findings about the priests named in the report. The report remains sealed.

The supervising judge of the grand jury, Cambria County Judge Norman Krumenacker, ruled the brief should be made public.

In a statement, Shapiro said the ruling was a victory for abuse victims.

“Last week, as directed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Attorney General Shapiro filed a brief to combat efforts to prevent the release of the entire Grand Jury report into child sexual abuse within the Catholic

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

The dioceses involved in the investigation are Allentown, Scranton, Harrisburg, Greensburg, Pittsburgh and Erie.

The opinion and order note that lawyers presented their arguments in closed court at a hearing Thursday. The protections of grand jury secrecy, Krumenacker wrote, “are removed only where a presentment or report has been issued by a grand jury.”

The grand jury issued the report, based on two years of secret testimony, in the spring. Krumenacker blocked release of the report for 30 days to allow “named, nonindicted persons” to respond. Krumenacker declined to hold hearings to suppress or redact the grand jury report, leading to last-minute pleas to the state Supreme Court, which put the process of releasing the report on hold June 20.

It is unknown when the court will release Shapiro’s brief, as Krumenacker’s order says it may be made public “at the discretion of the Supreme Court.”