Kirchenakte1962-2010 · 48 years
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Sexual abuse in six dioceses of Pennsylvania (grand jury report 2018)
For two years a grand jury (a jury panel of the public prosecutor's office) in Pennsylvania investigated six dioceses and read half a million pages of internal church files. It found credible allegations against over 300 priests and over 1,000 children identifiable by name as victims; there are probably thousands. In the files the FBI recognised an ever-recurring pattern of cover-up: minimisation, sham investigations, transfer instead of dismissal, and above all no report to the police. Because the Church hid the acts for so long, almost all were time-barred.
- Period
- 1962-2010 (48 years)
- Report published
- 14 August 2018
- Country
- United States
- Institutions
- Diocese of Allentown
Diocese of Erie
Diocese of Greensburg
Diocese of Harrisburg
Diocese of Pittsburgh
Diocese of Scranton - Category
- Sexual abuse, Cover-up
- Level of evidence
- A Primary source · what does this mean?
What happened to the people
Who was affected? Victims and numbers
- The jurors evaluated half a million pages of internal diocesan files. They contained credible allegations against over 300 priests; over 1,000 children could already be identified as victims from the church records. The jurors assume thousands more whose records were lost or who never dared to come forward.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1
„They contained credible allegations against over three hundred predator priests. Over one thousand child victims were identifiable, from the church’s own records“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1
„We believe that the real number – of children whose records were lost, or who were afraid ever to come forward – is in the thousands“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1. Original · Archive copy - The abuse was not over in 2018: one of the two priests charged had abused two boys monthly for years, until 2010.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 7
„The other assaulted two different boys, on a monthly basis, for a period of years that ended only in 2010“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 7. Original · Archive copy
How were they charged and sentenced?
- The FBI analysed the files and found a "playbook for concealing the truth": euphemisms instead of "rape"; interviews by fellow clergy instead of real investigations; "evaluations" at church-run clinics based on the priests' own reports; parishes were told only of "sick leave"; perpetrators continued to receive housing and money; perpetrators who became known were transferred; and above all: no report to the police.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3
„It’s like a playbook for concealing the truth“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3
„Never say “rape”; say “inappropriate contact” or “boundary issues.”“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3
„Tell his parishioners that he is on “sick leave,” or suffering from “nervous exhaustion.”“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3
„transfer him to a new location where no one will know he is a child abuser“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3
„Finally and above all, don’t tell the police“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 3. Original · Archive copy - Because of the cover-up, almost all cases were time-barred; charges could be brought against only two priests. Bishops and other officials largely went unpunished, and many, including some named in the report, were promoted.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1
„As a consequence of the coverup, almost every instance of abuse we found is too old to be prosecuted“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 7
„Monsignors, auxiliary bishops, bishops, archbishops, cardinals have mostly been protected; many, including some named in this report, have been promoted“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 7. Original · Archive copy
What happened to those affected?
- Most victims were boys, but there were also girls; some were teenagers, many were prepubescent. Some were made compliant with alcohol or pornography, some were raped orally, vaginally or anally. They are scarred for life; many became addicted, ill or died early.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1
„Some were manipulated with alcohol or pornography“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1
„Some were raped orally, some vaginally, some anally“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 8
„they are marked for life. Many of them wind up addicted, or impaired, or dead before their time“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 8. Original · Archive copy
Witness accounts and records
Father Graff did more than rape me. He killed my potential and in so doing killed the man I should have become.
They never admitted anything happened. It was like he was trying to prove his entire life what had happened and that he was telling the truth. They never admitted – they never said there was abuse.
When I went there and told him what had happened, I said I stole his car. I said, I have it out in the parking lot. He says, I don't want to know anything about this. I want you to leave, get out of here.
According to Diocesan records, no action was taken against Hammond and he continued in ministry until his death in 1985. A review of Hammond’s Diocesan file revealed that there was no record of the complaint made by Joe’s mother.
Background
Course of events
- As early as 1962, files of the Diocese of Pittsburgh documented its knowledge of sexual abuse by a priest; the last abuse charged in the report lasted until 2010.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Diözese Pittsburgh
„documenting the Diocese’s knowledge of his sexual abuse of children as early as 1962“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Diözese Pittsburgh. Original · Archive copy
Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)
- What all the victims had in common was that church leaders brushed them aside because they wanted to protect the abusers and the institution. According to the files, the main goal was not to help children but to avoid "scandal"; the word appears again and again in the documents. Complaints were locked away in a "secret archive" to which only the bishop had the key.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1
„But all of them were brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institution above all“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 1. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 2
„The main thing was not to help children, but to avoid “scandal.”“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 2. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 2
„Abuse complaints were kept locked up in a “secret archive.”“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 2. Original · Archive copy
Who received the assets, who profited?
- The files contained confidentiality agreements over decades: payments to victims, bought with their silence.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 9
„The subpoenaed records contained quite a few confidentiality agreements, going back decades: payouts sealed by silence“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 9. Original · Archive copy
Response of the Church
- In Allentown a priest confessed: "Please help me. I have sexually abused a boy." The diocese concluded that this would "not necessarily be a horrendous trauma" for the victim and left him in unrestricted ministry for years. In Erie the bishop thanked a priest who had confessed to abusing at least a dozen boys for all he had done for God's people.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 4
„The diocese concluded that “the experience will not necessarily be a horrendous trauma” for the victim“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 4. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 4
„The priest was left in unrestricted ministry for several more years, despite his own confession“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 4. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 4
„despite a priest’s admission to assaulting at least a dozen young boys, the bishop wrote to thank him“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 4. Original · Archive copy - In Scranton a priest raped a girl, got her pregnant and arranged an abortion. The bishop wrote a sympathetic letter: "I share your grief." The letter was not addressed to the girl but to the rapist.
Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 5 f.
„a priest raped a girl, got her pregnant, and arranged an abortion“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 5 f.. Original · Archive copy Evidence: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 6
„But the letter was not for the girl. It was addressed to the rapist“
Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), Report I, Section I. Introduction, S. 6. Original · Archive copy
See also
-
1946-2002 · 56 years
Archdiocese of Philadelphia, grand jury report of 2005 on abuse by 63 priests and cover-up by Cardinals Krol and Bevilacqua
- United States
- Sexual abuse
- Cover-up
-
1950-2019 · 69 years
Sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Colorado (Special Master's report 2019)
- United States
- Sexual abuse
- Cover-up
-
1950-2019 · 69 years
Sexual abuse by Catholic clerics in Illinois (Attorney General's report 2023)
- United States
- Sexual abuse
- Cover-up
-
1950-2002 · 52 years
United States, John Jay Report of 2004 on sexual abuse by Catholic priests and deacons 1950 to 2002
- United States
- Sexual abuse
-
1950-2022 · 72 years
Sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in Kansas (Kansas Bureau of Investigation report 2023)
- United States
- Sexual abuse
- Cover-up
Original documents to read
- Government report
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; veröffentlicht auf Anordnung des Supreme Court of Pennsylvania: Report I of the 40th Statewide Investigating Grand Jury (geschwärzte Fassung), 14 August 2018. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 11 Oct 2026)
Change log (4)
The change log is kept in German only.
- : Aktualisiert: Institutionen, Englische Übersetzung
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Last changed on 22 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.