In Pa.’s wake, the floodgate of clergy abuse investigations opens | Editorial

HARRISBURG (PA)
PennLive

September 7, 2018

By PennLive Editorial Board

It’s not often that Pennsylvania finds itself in the vanguard of much of anything.

But three weeks after a nearly 900-page grand jury report detailing decades of sexual abuse in Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses became public, prosecutors in other states are taking notice and launching probes of their own.

On Thursday, attorneys general in New York and New Jersey announced they planned to initiate investigations of clergy sex abuse in their states.

New York is moving forward with a civil investigation to determine if dioceses and other church entities covered up allegations of child sexual abuse. The New York attorney general’s office is also partnering with district attorneys on possible criminal investigations.

“The Pennsylvania grand jury report shined a light on incredibly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic clergy, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover ups in the dioceses,” New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood said in a statement. “Victims in New York deserve to be heard as well – and we are going to do everything in our power to bring them the justice they deserve.”

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