Accessibility links

Breaking News
USA

US Probes Abuse Allegations Against Catholic Clergy in Pennsylvania


Attorney General Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania speaks at a news conference in the state Capitol after legislation to respond to a landmark grand jury report accusing hundreds of Roman Catholic priests of sexually abusing children over decades stalled in the Legislature, Oct. 17, 2018 in Harrisburg, Pa. The U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation of abuse allegations inside the church, according to two people familiar with the probe.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania speaks at a news conference in the state Capitol after legislation to respond to a landmark grand jury report accusing hundreds of Roman Catholic priests of sexually abusing children over decades stalled in the Legislature, Oct. 17, 2018 in Harrisburg, Pa. The U.S. Justice Department has opened an investigation of abuse allegations inside the church, according to two people familiar with the probe.

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.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG