Wednesday, September 28, 2005
SAVED BY THE BELL
The Washington Post reports:
A three-year grand jury investigation of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the longest known inquiry in the national clergy sex abuse crisis, ended Wednesday with scathing allegations that cardinals and other churchmen had conspired to protect offenders.
However, the grand jury said it could bring no indictments because of time limits on prosecuting the claims and because the Roman Catholic archdiocese is not a corporation under state law. Only one priest in the archdiocese has been indicted.
The archdiocese responded with its own equally sharp-worded report, calling the grand jury's conclusions "discriminatory" and "sensationalized," and accusing investigators of "bullying" former Cardinal Joseph Bevilacqua during his 10 appearances as a witness.
The grand jury was unsparing in its condemnation of Bevilacqua, who retired in 2003, and his predecessor, the late Cardinal John Krol, who was archbishop of Philadelphia from 1961-88.
The two men knew that priests were molesting children but conducted bogus "non-investigations" designed to avoid uncovering abuse, while they and their aides transferred known abusers among parishes, the grand jury said.
The 418-page report names 63 priests "whose abusive behavior was well-documented in archdiocesan files and by witnesses who testified" before the panel. All had multiple victims, and many more abusers certainly exist, the grand jury said.
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