After a two year investigation, attorney general Kathleen Kane announced that she discovered caes of hundreds of young victims being abused by priests in the Altoona-Johsntown diocese – but can not bring criminal charges against any of the alleged predators.
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During those years, hundreds of children were sexually abused by more than 50 religious leaders in the eight-county diocese.
Kane said the grand jury saw evidence of this, as well as the church’s intricate record-keeping on allegations of abuse and the shuffling or promotion of priests between parishes that often followed. Hogan headed the diocese from 1966 to 1986 and died in 2005.
The report added: “The grand jury notes that the chilling impact of such a victory lap on the victims of child abuse throughout the diocese is incalculable”.
While Kane stressed the investigation is ongoing, none of the alleged criminal acts detailed in the grand jury report can be prosecuted. In other instances, the victims allegedly stood together while being abused, the grand jury found. It noted that at least one victim committed suicide.
In a presentment released by the state attorney general’s office Tuesday, the grand jury indicated two former bishops, the late James Hogan and retired bishop Joseph Adamec, as being “at the forefront” of a cover-up of abuse allegations. A dramatic highlight of the investigation came in August 2015 when investigators executed a search warrant at diocesan offices in Altoona and seized 115,000 documents, many from filing cabinets and safes where the most sensitive church documents were kept. But in a court filing, his attorney said the accusations against the 80-year-old Adamec are unfounded. Adamec, who succeeded him, retired in 2011.
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops estimates that American dioceses have paid almost $US4 billion since 1950 to settle claims with victims.
Adamec cited possible self-incrimination in refusing to testify before the grand jury in November. Kane said that much of the evidence revealed in the report came from secret archives maintained by the diocese that was only available to the bishops who led the diocese over the decades.
The Pennsylvania report also comes on the heels of testimony by Australian Cardinal George Pell, one of Pope Francis’ top advisers, regarding the Vatican’s current efforts to address sexual abuse issues and how aware he was of sexual abuse at the hands of Australian priests in the 1970s. They said the pictures were taken during the time they allege a Roman Catholic priest sexually abused them while they were altar boys. Nine of them were suspended or removed from ministry, and the five who were reinstated never re-offended, his attorney wrote.
As a result, the grand jury in its report made a series of recommendations, such as abolishing the statute of limitations for sexual offenses against minors and urging the state General Assembly to suspend the civil statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims. Baker killed himself in 2013 after abuse settlements with an OH diocese where he formerly worked were publicized.
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The Altoona-Johnstown parish in Central Pennsylvania serves 94,000 Catholics with 89 parishes, 74 priests and 36 permanent deacons.
