The U.S. Justice Department has begun investigating allegations of child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania, according to people familiar with the probe.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. attorney's office in Philadelphia recently issued subpoenas to dioceses across the state.
The investigation, first reported Thursday by The Associated Press, followed a Pennsylvania grand jury report in August noting that more than 300 Catholic priests in the state had sexually abused children for decades and that church leaders had covered it up.