Pennsylvania bishop pledges cooperation with investigators in abuse inquiry

March 04, 2016

BIshop Mark Bartchak of Altoona-Johnstown, Pennsylvania, has promised the full cooperation of the archdiocese in an investigation of sexual abuse by clerics there.

The bishop issued his statement in response to a scathing grand-jury report issued by the attorney general of Pennsylvania, outlining a pattern of abuse by priests and cover-ups by diocesan officials in past years. The attorney general said that the crimes described in the report could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired.

The diocese announced plans to release a list of the priests who are listed in the grand-jury report, accused of molesting hundreds of children over a span of decades in the past. 

 

 

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Further information:

• Pennsylvania bishop pledges transparency in dealing with abuse reports (CNS)
• Pennsylvania grand jury finds widespread abuse, cover-ups in Altoona-Johnstown diocese (CWN, 3/3)