PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

March 1, 2016

By Peter Smith / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

ALTOONA, Pa. ­ Hundreds of children were molested, raped and destined to lasting psychological trauma by at least 50 priests and others associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown across half a century, a state grand jury has found in denouncing coverups orchestrated by two bishops and enabled by the law enforcement officials they controlled.

The conspiracy amounted to “soul murder,” said the report by the 37th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, released today nearly two years after the grand jury was impaneled.

At a press conference here this morning, Attorney General Kathleen Kane said that horrendous acts of abuse were committed by priests, and called it a ”day of reckoning.”

The report said no one could be charged for the crimes it detailed, either because they happened too long ago under the statute of limitations…