The leaders of the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania knew about the allegations against the priests. Instead of helping the victims, they committed a pattern of systemic cover-up to avoid scandal, according to the report.
In August, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro criticized Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the former Bishop of Pittsburg, over his untruthful response to the grand jury report. He also claimed that the Vatican knew about the sexual abuse cover-up based on evidence found in secret archives.
Wuerl was identified as one of the bishops involved in covering up the sexual abuse allegations against priests. He decided to resign from his position as the archbishop of Washington D.C. amid growing pressure. Pope Francis accepted his resignation last week.
Last month, Governor Tom Wolf demanded that the Pennsylvania legislature amend state law to allow victims to file lawsuits over sexual abuse that happened to them decades ago.
The Pennsylvania House passed a legislation allowing victims of child sexual abuse from decades ago to file lawsuits against their abusers. However, the state Senate failed to pass a bill that would help older victims seek justice against their abusers decades ago.
