Victims tear up over court order to release interim report on predator priests

By Ivey Dejesus
PennLive.com
July 28, 2018

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2018/07/victims_of_abuse_welcome_order.html

James Faluszczak, Jim VanSickle, Shaun Dougherty and Mike McDonnell, all victims of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania gather at PennLive to discuss the upcoming grand jury report.

Mike McDonnell, a victim of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, gathers with others at PennLive to discuss the upcoming grand jury report.

Shaun Dougherty, a victim of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, gathers with others at PennLive to discuss the upcoming grand jury report.

Jim VanSickle, a victim of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, gathers with others at PennLive to discuss the upcoming grand jury report.

James Faluszczak, a victim of clergy sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, gathers with others at PennLive to discuss the upcoming grand jury report.

Over the course of an 18-month-long statewide investigation into predatory Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, victims of clergy sex abuse have bemoaned concerns and fears that church officials would silence their voices as they fought to have their stories of abuse made public.

On Friday, victims embraced a significant victory towards that goal. 

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court gave the Commonwealth an non-negotiable deadline by which to release the findings of an 18-month-long investigation into clergy sex abuse. 

"It brings a tear to my eye," said Bradford resident Jim VanSickle, who testified before the grand jury about his abuse as a child at the hands of Father David Poulson, a former Catholic priest in the Diocese of Erie.

"I'm very happy for victims and the state of Pennsylvania for their opportunity to be heard and I 'm anxious to read the report myself," VanSickle said.

Poulson was held for trial on May 31 after he waived his preliminary hearing on charges that he sexually abused two young boys over a period of many years.

The high court ordered the Commonwealth to release an interim report that protected the rights of petitioners who have challenged that the report violates their constitutional rights. The court will continue to consider appeals to its decision but deemed that the state could proceed in releasing a revised report.

Victims on Friday also responded to a stunning fact revealed in the court's opinion: that investigators identified more than 300 individuals as been tied to criminal or morally reprehensible crimes against children.

"That's a shocking number and I'm sure people find it shocking but in my heart I know that's only a fraction of that number,' said Shaun Dougherty, who was molested by his priest from the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and has become a victims advocate.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro called the court's order authorizing the release of the report a "victory" for victims. Shapiro has been fighting to have the report released since the state's highest court sealed it amidst legal challenges.

According to a database compiled by BishopAccountability.org, the six Pennsylvania dioceses at the center of the grand jury report have, to date seen a total of 154 priests publicly accused of abuse.

Victims on Friday expressed a polarity of emotions: some rejoicing that their voices would finally be heard even as they said they were bracing for an outpouring of long-suppressed emotions.

"I'm more than available to anyone who would want to reach out and discuss this and just talk as a new voice coming from this report," VanSickle said. "Being a victim myself, I  came forward in May. Alone because another victim was accused by my priest abuser and I  did not want that young man to be alone. These people's information is raw and although vindicating and freeing, it's going to be an emotional experience at same time."

Dougherty said that while he was happy for victims, he was disappointed in the scope of the court order.

"It has been a long, hard pressure cooker of wait," he said. "I'm relieved they gave the go-ahead to release the report but at the same time, I 'm saddened to hear that it is going to be a redacted version."

Dougherty said that given the facts on the prevalence of child sex abuse nationwide and the decades old scandal in the church, the numbers of predators identified would likely increase significantly.

"I have a feeling that after this release, we'll begin to hear more names," he said. "People now are only becoming empowered. Three-hundred is shocking but I'm guessing that it's way more than that."

The grand jury in 2016 began an investigation into allegations of child sex crimes by Catholic priests across the dioceses of Harrisburg, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Erie, Scranton and Greensburg.

Bishop Lawrence Persico of the Diocese of Erie last week warned that the report would be graphic and implicate high-ranking church officials.

Shapiro this week in a letter to Pope Francis appealed to the pontiff for help in clearing obstacles from church officials and clergy to stop the report from being released.