Court sides with some priests in abuse report, shields names
FILE: A parishioner celebrates communion at the Cathedral Church of Saint Patrick in Harrisburg, Pa., Friday, Aug. 17, 2018. Since the grant jury report was released last month, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office has received more than 1,100 calls to it’s clergy sex abuse hotline and several other state’s attorneys general have initiated their own investigations. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
(Harrisburg) — Pennsylvania’s highest court says the names of 11 Roman Catholic clergy cited in a grand jury report on sexual abuse of children can’t be made public.
The Supreme Court said Monday releasing the information would have violated the clergymen’s state constitutional right to have their reputation protected.
The clergy challenged being named in the document before its August release.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro says that although he can’t release the names, the state’s bishops should.
The clergy argued they hadn’t been provided an adequate opportunity to respond to the grand jury about the allegations. They also said the report stigmatized people who hadn’t been convicted of crimes, and contained inaccuracies.
The jury found more than 300 priests had abused children going back 70 years, and church officials covered up abuse.
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