BishopAccountability.org
 
 

Erie’s Trautman Criticizes Media, Attorney General Report

By Ed Palattella
GoErie
November 15, 2018

http://www.goerie.com/news/20181115/eries-trautman-criticizes-media-attorney-general-report

Retired bishop of Erie commented at meeting of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in Baltimore. He also called “unjust” a proposed hotline for bishop misconduct.

The Catholic Diocese of Erie has become a case in point in the divide over how Roman Catholic bishops in the United States want to address the clergy sex-abuse crisis.

The differences within the diocese — specifically, the differences between its current bishop and retired bishop — have been on display this week in Baltimore, at the fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Many bishops at the conference, such as Erie Catholic Bishop Lawrence Persico, have embraced calls for change. Others, such as Persico’s predecessor as bishop, Donald W. Trautman, who retired in 2012, have criticized some of the conference’s proposals, including those designed to monitor the bishops and their handling of abuse allegations.

Trautman was outspoken in his remarks on Tuesday, the second day of the conference, which ended Wednesday.

At a session for debate, Trautman raised questions about the accuracy of “every attorney general report.” The Pennsylvania attorney general’s August grand jury report on clergy abuse statewide found that, among other things, Trautman failed “to aggressively pursue” removal of an abusive priest.

And Trautman on Tuesday questioned the accuracy of a joint investigation by the Boston Globe and Philadelphia Inquirer, published two weeks ago, that reported that “more than 130 U.S. bishops — or nearly one-third of those still living — have been accused during their careers of failing to adequately respond to sexual misconduct in their dioceses.” The report did not name Trautman, who led the 13-county Erie Catholic Diocese from 1990 to 2012.

 

 

 

 

 




.

 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.