PENNSYLVANIA
news.com.au (Australia)

TWO Roman Catholic bishops who led a Pennsylvania diocese helped cover up the sexual abuse of hundreds of children by over 50 priests or religious leaders over a 40-year period, according to a grand jury report issued Tuesday.

The report on the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese was based partly on evidence from a secret diocesan archive uncovered through a search warrant executed last year, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

“These predators desecrated a sacred trust and preyed upon their victims in the very places where they should have felt most safe,” Ms Kane said in a statement.

No criminal charges are being filed because some abusers have died, the statute of limitations has expired and, in some cases, victims are too traumatised to testify, she said.