HARRISBURG (PA)
CNHI
October 19, 2018
By John Finnerty
Advocates aren’t giving up on the crusade to get the state to open a window to let adults who’d been molested as children sue beyond the normal statute of limitations, even though the state Senate failed to pass legislation to allow that to happen before ending its session on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the findings of a statewide grand jury into sexual abuse by clergy and church leaders’ conduct are now being investigated by the U.S Department of Justice.
As the Associated Press first reported Thursday, the Justice Department has opened an investigation of child sexual abuse inside the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania, using subpoenas to demand confidential files and testimony from church leaders.
The subpoenas, served last week, follow a scathing state grand jury report over the summer that found that 301 “predator priests” in Pennsylvania had molested more than 1,000 children over several decades and that church leaders had covered up for the offenders.
“The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg will cooperate fully with this inquiry, just as it has with the Office of Attorney General’s investigation,” a statement from Rachel Bryson, executive director of public relations for the diocese, said. “The Diocese has worked to be open and transparent regarding the issue of child sexual abuse and its past.”
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