PENNSYLVANIA
Mother Jones

By Grace Wilson | Tue Mar. 1, 2016

After an exhaustive, two-year investigation, a statewide grand jury has determined that hundreds of children were sexually abused by priests and other religious leaders serving the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in western Pennsylvania over at least 40 years.

The grand jury issued a 147-page report, made public today, that details widespread alleged abuse involving at least 50 priests and religious leaders, and the findings include accounts of how Diocese superiors took action to conceal the accusations in order to protect the Church’s image.

“The heinous crimes these children endured are absolutely unconscionable,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, who spoke at a news conference today in Altoona, a small city located two hours east of Pittsburgh. “These predators desecrated a sacred trust and preyed upon their victims in the very places where they should have…