2002 was a major year for the Catholic Church. It was the year the sexual abuse crisis exploded, following a series of articles published in the Boston Globe and Hartford Courant detailing the systematic sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and bishops who then conspired to hide their crimes. The crisis has never fully abated, but continued to show different faces over the last 15 years.
2004 was another important year because it was the year when the Church commissioned John Jay University to systematically audit cases of sexual abuse in the Church and see what patterns emerged. The report that came from the study, known as the John Jay Report, found that 81% of all cases of sexual abuse in the Church involved homosexual abuse, and of those cases of homosexual abuse, fully 2/3rds of those cases were homosexual ephebophilia, which is homosexual men abusing teenagers and is approved by major Conservative radio and television personality Dennis “fifteen is different than eight” Prager:
There is no “sexual abuse crisis” in the Church. Even major Protestant leaders such as Boz Tchividjian, Billy Graham’s grandson who devotes a large part of his ministry to uncovering and eliminating sexual abuse in Protestant churches, says that sexual abuse is far more common among Protestant ministers than Catholic Priests.
What the Catholic Church has is a homosexual problem caused by a homosexual infiltration into the ranks of the priesthood, who are using their position of authority to indulge perverse desires and then more.
Some say that the Catholic Church needs to be more “accommodating” of the LGBT. This is beyond a ridiculous statement, because owing to the infiltration of the LGBT into the priesthood there has never been such a crisis over faith and morals regarding homosexuality today with all of the immoral and heretical tolerance shown it, and yet in spite of the LGBT and their complaints for more “integration” of homosexuals and homosexuality into the Church, all these clerics have done is turn where they go into literal bathhouses where they indulge in the same perverse things- group sodomy, fisting, coprophilia, drug use, and the infamous “rosebudding” so popular among the LGBT- that are but blasphemy against God and a disgrace to their office and person.
In a worldly sense, the homosexual issue has largely been ignored but the phrase “clerical sexual abuse” sells newspaper all throughout the Anglosphere and western world. Mainstream and alternative press have been unrelenting in their attacks on the Church- and with good reason- that even though many will ignore the homosexual issue that is so obviously made clear by the report. State and national governments have uniformly seized on the crisis to expand their own power, often times against the Church, and will happily release reports about priestly sexual abuse to the public.
However, a strange thing happened in Pennsylvania. A report about clerical sexual abuse in six dioceses in PA from the state has been blocked from being released:
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to block the release of a grand jury investigative report into clergy sexual abuse hit Mark Rozzi “like a punch in the gut.”
“At first, (the decision) was very emotional and frustrating,” Rozzi said. “But then my thoughts turned to all the other victims and their families who have been hanging on by a thread. We have heard from dozens of them.”
Rozzi, a state representative from Berks County, previously testified before a grand jury about his abuse at the hands of a priest 30 years ago.
“The pain never goes away,” he told the Tribune-Review.
Victims of clergy sexual abuse and their attorneys were stunned last week at news that the report would not be made public. The grand jury investigation examined decades of allegations of abuse and cover-ups in six Catholic dioceses across the state, including Pittsburgh and Greensburg.
“They’re hurt, and a lot of them will say to me, ‘Mark, this is what they have done to me from day one. When I finally was able to talk about it, they hired an investigator to silence me,’ ” Rozzi said of other victims.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro last month said he planned to make the panel’s findings public by the end of June.
With all six dioceses on record supporting the release of the document, the stage appeared set for its publication.
But Wednesday, the Supreme Court ordered the 800-plus-page report remain sealed, even though it was given to diocesan officials in Greensburg, Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, Allentown and Scranton last month.
“It’s disappointing,” said Altoona lawyer Richard Serbin.
Serbin, who identified 106 suspected predator priests for the Attorney General’s investigators, set the stage for many of the state’s early laws involving child sexual abuse when he filed suit against the Altoona-Johnstown Catholic Diocese 31 years ago. The suit established Serbin as a victims’ advocate. He said he went on to represent nearly 300 victims of clergy sexual abuse over the next 30 years.
“I’ve never heard of this. But when it comes to the Catholic Church, a lot of things have taken place that under the ordinary course of the judiciary or investigative process would not occur,” Serbin said.
The high court’s order blocking the release of the secret proceedings does not say why the court acted or when or if the report will be published.
The sweeping probe, believed to be one of the most exhaustive in the United States, has yielded only two criminal cases to date — one each against priests who served in the Erie and Greensburg dioceses. But many believe the grand jury’s report will unveil a history of abuse and cover-ups spanning decades.
An effort earlier this month to delay the release of the report failed.
The Supreme Court weighed in on the issue after grand jury presiding Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III denied requests from parties who were named in the report, but not indicted, seeking to question individuals who testified against them.
A half-dozen lawyers from Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia were notified of Krumenacker’s decision, but it’s unclear who they represented.
In addition to the dioceses themselves, a number of individuals could have challenged the release of the report, said Duquesne University law professor Bruce Ledewitz.
“Anybody named would have standing to challenge it. As a matter of fact, let’s say they redacted things so as to not mention people by name. Then, even if you felt you would be identified, you’d have standing to challenge it,” Ledewitz said.
“I’m not defending the layer on layer of secrecy. To a certain extent, this is Josh Shapiro’s fault. He could have conducted the investigation out of his office, but then he wouldn’t have had subpoena power. So he went to the courts. And he who lives by judicial power dies by judicial power,” Ledewitz said.
It’s difficult for the public to challenge such secrecy, said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania News Media Association.
“There is no accountability here. There is no good cause shown on the record, and that’s what the public needs to file an appeal,” she said. “It is important for the court to be clear with the public about why access is being withheld and how long it will be withheld.”
Although parishes across the state struggle with church consolidations and school closings, the Catholic Church, which counts 3.2 million members in 962 parishes across Pennsylvania, is a powerful presence in Harrisburg, where a stable of influential lobbyists represent its interests.
Tim Lennon, president of SNAP , a national survivors network of clergy abuse victims, said he was sickened to learn of the state Supreme Court’s decision.
Back in Altoona, Serbin agreed. He said he received anonymous phone calls, letters and death threats when he first sued against a predator priest in 1987. He still receives calls from victims.
“Not all of them want to file a claim. Some of them just want to tell someone. I’ve had elderly men contact me just to finally tell someone,” Serbin said.
Previous grand juries detailed lengthy histories of sexual abuse and cover-ups in the Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown dioceses. Indeed, a statewide victims’ hot line established in the wake of the 2016 grand jury report on the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese prompted the current grand jury probe.
Shapiro, whose jurors heard heart-wrenching testimony from victim after victim over the past two years, vowed to make their findings public.
“My legal team and I will continue fighting tirelessly to make sure the victims of this abuse are able to tell their stories and the findings of this investigation are made public to the people of Pennsylvania,” he said. (source)
This is strange. It does not make sense in light of how cases with the abuse have been handled by governments before.
It could be nothing. It might be completely benign- a different way of handling the same issue. Surely there are exceptions to cases that, provided they are not recurring, do genuinely exist.
However, this report regarding the PA dioceses is the largest report yet in the USA. Why block its release? It simply does not make logical sense, unless there is something to hide.
This is Attorney General Josh Shapiro for the State of PA. As part of his tenure, he has pledged to support and defend the LGBT. He was endorsed by Philadelphia Gay News, so the support is real.
It is an established fact that the supermajority of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is homosexual.
It is well-known that the LGBT work together as one unit to advance the cause of homosexuality, regardless of differences, because they defined themselves by their support of Sodom. Likewise, the same can be said of many people and groups who support homosexuality that, while not per se LGBT themselves, will advance the homosexual agenda as a first priority.
It is curious that Josh Shapiro, who had the power for a notable part of the investigation to have the report published, refused to exercise it. Indeed, as a high-power attorney general, from a secular viewpoint, such a large probe against the Church with a report released to the public would likely look good on his “professional resume. Why does he still remain silent?
Likewise, Judge Kruemenacker, he has ruled in the past against the Amish in spite of their claims made regarding their religion. The Catholic Church is far larger than the Amish, and since many people were expecting the report, they would want to see it. Why withhold it from public view?
Remember, Pope Benedict XVI noted that there is a gay lobby in the Vatican, and their influence only is supported further by many of the actions or lack of actions and persons associated with the current Pope, Francis. What overlap exists between this “lobby” and interactions with regional or local governments and businesses?
There are many questions that need to be answered.