TITUSVILLE (PA)
The Herald
December 5, 2018
By Sean P. Ray
Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico responded to a litany of questions and comments about the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Pennsylvania Catholic Church at a public interview at the Edinboro University, Tuesday.
The interview was conducted by Debra Erdley, a reporter from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and was part of a series at the university titled “Uncomfortable Conversations.” Erdley has covered the scandal since it was launched by the release of a grand jury report in August, and also previously covered the Jerry Sandusky trial in 2012. Following the one-on-one interview, Persico took questions from the gathered audience.
Erdley began the interview by asking Persico about what moved him to cooperate with the grand jury investigation, breaking ranks with his fellow bishops. Persico was praised by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro for working closely with the probe, which unveiled numerous accusations of sexual abuse across Pennsylvania. Three priests with ties to Titusville were included in the report, including Monsingor James F. Hopkins, who served at St. Titus church for many years.
Persico said that when he was initially issued the subpoena for church documents in 2016, he asked a law firm to perform an independent investigation into accounts of sexual abuse performed by diocese personnel.
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