In Pennsylvania, Shadow of Secrecy Lifting from Decades of Abuse by Priests

WASHINGTON (DC)
NPR

August 2, 2018

By Camila Domonoske

For decades, the Catholic Church has grappled with sexual abuse of children by priests — through quiet reassignments and headline-grabbing scandals, internal investigations and public criminal charges, simmering controversies and settlements with survivors.

Now, some parishes in Pennsylvania are reckoning with the problem through an unusual dose of transparency.

In 2016, Pennsylvania’s attorney general launched a grand jury investigation, into allegations of sexual abuse in six of the state’s eight dioceses.

The investigation was conducted under “the umbrella of secrecy,” court documents note. It came closely after a 2016 grand jury investigation that found evidence that two bishops in the Altoona-Johnstown diocese covered up sexual abuse by dozens of church leaders.

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