EASTON (PA)
Times Express
August 6, 2019
By Julia Owens
Last August, the public finally got to see the chilling findings of a grand jury investigation into decades of sexual abuse within six of Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses, including the Diocese of Allentown.
According to a grand jury report, 301 priests, 35 of whom had ties to the Allentown Diocese, were accused of sexually abusing at least 1,000 children going back to the 1940s. It alleged church officials had been involved in covering up the abuse cases.
Fast forward a year: investigations remain underway and 1,862 calls have been made to a clergy-abuse hotline. About 90% of those calls concerned allegations of abuse or cover-ups within the Catholic church, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.
In conjunction with the one-year anniversary of the report’s release, the Allentown Diocese issued a statement about programs it has implemented to prevent abuse and keep children safe.
“The diocese uses vigilance, education, and prevention, coupled with swift and decisive action in the event of an accusation, to address abuse,” the statement said.
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