Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
1946-2002 · 56 years · show in timeline

Archdiocese of Philadelphia, grand jury report of 2005 on abuse by 63 priests and cover-up by Cardinals Krol and Bevilacqua

In 2005 a state grand jury in Philadelphia documented sexual abuse by at least 63 priests of the archdiocese against hundreds of children, including rapes. Cardinals Krol and Bevilacqua were personally informed about almost all the allegations; perpetrators remained in office or were transferred to new parishes, and victims and witnesses were intimidated. Because the statute of limitations had expired, nobody could be charged.

Period
1946-2002 (56 years)
Report published
21 September 2005
Country
United States
Institutions
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Cardinal John Krol
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua
Category
Sexual abuse, Cover-up
Level of evidence
A Primary source · what does this mean?
Persons
John Krol (Cardinal, Archbishop of Philadelphia; according to the grand jury personally informed about almost all allegations)
Anthony Bevilacqua (Cardinal, Archbishop of Philadelphia; according to the grand jury personally informed about almost all allegations)
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, cathedral church of the archdiocese, 2013
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, cathedral church of the archdiocese, 2013 Image: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. The grand jury was able to document child sexual abuse by at least 63 priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and hundreds of victims; it had no doubt that there were many more. What was meant was not "inappropriate touching", as the archdiocese often called it, but rape of boys and girls.
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 2 (PDF-S. 7)
    „The Grand Jury was able to document child sexual abuse by at least 63 different priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We have no doubt that there were many more. The evidence also revealed hundreds of child victims of these sexual offenders.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 2 (PDF-S. 7). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 2 (PDF-S. 7)
    „When we say abuse, we don’t just mean “inappropriate touching” (as the Archdiocese often chose to refer to it). We mean rape.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 2 (PDF-S. 7). Original

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. All the acts were time-barred; neither priests nor officials could be charged. The archdiocese had not organised itself as a legal corporation and was thus protected from criminal liability as an organisation. The grand jury called this "a travesty of justice".
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 1 (PDF-S. 6)
    „As a result, these priests and officials will necessarily escape criminal prosecution. We surely would have charged them if we could have done so.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 1 (PDF-S. 6). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 7 (PDF-S. 12)
    „The Archdiocese, however, has chosen not to organize itself as a legal corporation, thus immunizing itself from such liability.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 7 (PDF-S. 12). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 7 (PDF-S. 12)
    „We are left, then, with what we consider a travesty of justice: a multitude of crimes for which no one can be held criminally accountable.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 7 (PDF-S. 12). Original

What happened to those affected?

  1. Examples from the report: an eleven-year-old girl was raped by her priest and became pregnant; the priest took her for an abortion. A fifth-grader was molested in the confessional booth. A twelve-year-old tried to take his own life after being raped by his priest and lives in a psychiatric hospital as an adult. A boy who told his father about the abuse of his brother was beaten unconscious: "Priests don't do that."
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 3 (PDF-S. 8)
    „A girl, 11 years old, was raped by her priest and became pregnant. The Father took her in for an abortion.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 3 (PDF-S. 8). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 3 (PDF-S. 8)
    „A 5th-grader was molested by her priest inside the confessional booth.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 3 (PDF-S. 8). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 3 (PDF-S. 8)
    „A 12-year-old, who was raped and sodomized by his priest, tried to commit suicide, and remains institutionalized in a mental hospital as an adult.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 3 (PDF-S. 8). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 3 (PDF-S. 8)
    „A boy who told his father about the abuse his younger brother was suffering was beaten to the point of unconsciousness. “Priests don’t do that,” said the father“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 3 (PDF-S. 8). Original

Witness accounts and records

Witness "Owen" before the grand jury on the abuse by a priest

He then told the priest, “Why don’t you kill me now? I got to live with this shame for the rest of my life.” Owen told the Grand Jury: “I still feel shame about it today.”

District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org: Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), S. 238 (PDF-S. 243). Original

Background

Course of events

  1. The earliest documented abuse dates back to 1946: letters from Father Joseph Gausch describe the abuse of several teenagers from that year on. A priest whom the archdiocese's abuse officer called "one of the sickest people" remained in ministry under Bevilacqua with full access to children until the scandal became public in 2002.
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section V, Fallstudie Father Joseph Gausch, S. 117 (PDF-S. 122)
    „The letters describe Fr. Gausch’s abuse of several teenage boys beginning as early as 1946“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section V, Fallstudie Father Joseph Gausch, S. 117 (PDF-S. 122). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9)
    „Yet Cardinal Bevilacqua allowed him to continue in ministry, with full access to children – until the priest scandal broke in 2002.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9). Original

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

  1. According to the grand jury, in many cases the archdiocese acted deliberately to avoid civil liability: it called in lawyers instead of confronting the perpetrators. Cardinal Bevilacqua was himself a lawyer.
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9)
    „and that they did many of these things in a conscious effort simply to avoid civil liability. In short, as abuse reports grew, the Archdiocese chose to call in the lawyers rather than confront the abusers.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9). Original

Who received the assets, who profited?

  1. According to the grand jury, when Cardinal Bevilacqua became archbishop in 1988, concern about liability was added to the fear of scandal; a diocese in Louisiana had paid 4.2 million dollars to nine victims of a priest in 1984. Bevilacqua was prepared to reimburse one victim 6,890 dollars in therapy costs only if he signed that the archdiocese admitted no guilt and waived further help. One priest himself paid 40,000 dollars to silence a victim.
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, S. 31 (PDF-S. 36)
    „concern over legal liability had joined fears of scandal. Dioceses across the country were grappling with the implications of a 1984 case in which a Louisiana diocese paid $4.2 million to nine victims of a pedophile priest“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), S. 31 (PDF-S. 36). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, S. 235 (PDF-S. 240)
    „Cardinal Bevilacqua agreed to reimburse Benjamin $6,890 for counseling if the victim would sign an agreement acknowledging that the Archdiocese was not admitting guilt and promising that he would seek no further assistance“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), S. 235 (PDF-S. 240). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, S. 157 (PDF-S. 162)
    „He personally paid $40,000 to silence a victim.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), S. 157 (PDF-S. 162). Original

Response of the Church

  1. Senior officials of the archdiocese received reports without seriously investigating them, left dangerous priests in office or transferred them to cover things up, warned no parents and intimidated victims and witnesses. Cardinals Bevilacqua and Krol were personally informed about almost all allegations and decided themselves how they were to be handled.
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9)
    „that they left dangerous priests in place or transferred them to different parishes as a means of concealment; that they never alerted parents of the dangers posed by these offenders“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9)
    „that they intimidated and retaliated against victims and witnesses who came forward about abuse“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9)
    „he and Cardinal Krol were personally informed of almost all of the allegations of sexual abuse by priests, and personally decided or approved of how to handle those allegations“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 4 (PDF-S. 9). Original
  2. One priest was transferred so often that, according to the archdiocese's own records, it was running out of places where he was not already known. Bevilacqua took in a known perpetrator from another diocese with a cover story ("bishops helping bishops"). A nun who complained about a priest convicted of receiving child pornography was dismissed. One official comforted a perpetrator that he had been "seduced" by his eleven-year-old victim.
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 5 (PDF-S. 10)
    „One abusive priest was transferred so many times that, according to the Archdiocese’s own records, they were running out of places to send him where he would not already be known.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 5 (PDF-S. 10). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 5 (PDF-S. 10)
    „Officials referred to this sort of practice as “bishops helping bishops.”“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 5 (PDF-S. 10). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 5 (PDF-S. 10)
    „A nun who complained about a priest who was still ministering to children – even after he was convicted of receiving child pornography – was fired from her position as director of religious education.“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 5 (PDF-S. 10). Original
    Evidence: District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org, Section I, S. 5 (PDF-S. 10)
    „an Archdiocese official comforted one sexually abusive priest by suggesting that the priest had been “seduced” by his 11-year-old victim“
    Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), Section I, S. 5 (PDF-S. 10). Original

See also

Original documents to read

  1. Government report
    District Attorney of Philadelphia (Lynne Abraham); Kopie bei BishopAccountability.org: Report of the Grand Jury, County Investigating Grand Jury of September 17, 2003, Misc. No. 03-00-239 (Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia), 21 September 2005. Original (retrieved 15 Oct 2026)
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