PITTSBURGH (PA)
WESA/WITF
October 11, 2019
By Brett Sholtis
A lawsuit filed against the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, Bishop Ronald Gainer and the diocese’s former bishop, Kevin Rhoades, alleges the church turned a blind eye while a teacher drugged and raped a student.
The plaintiff and his attorney say the lawsuit points to the limits of the victims’ compensation funds that are paid for by the Catholic church and supported by some state senate Republicans.
In 1974, Patrick Duggan was a 13-year-old student at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic High School in Harrisburg.
Duggan says that’s when his history teacher invited him and other boys to his house. That teacher, Ronald Stewart, allegedly gave Duggan and other boys alcohol, marijuana and hallucinogenic drugs, the filing states.
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