Cardinal Donald Wuerl
“The predatory behavior of Father Ernest Paone dated back to the 1960s and he was shuffled from parish to parish all over the country, according to the grand jury report.”
(Jake Tapper & Clare Foran — CNN) Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is accusing Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, of “not telling the truth” as he attempts to defend himself amid criticism and calls for his resignation over the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing allegations of widespread predatory behavior by more than 300 priests against more than 1,000 children.
The Pennsylvania attorney general disagrees. In a statement to CNN, Shapiro said, “Cardinal Wuerl is not telling the truth. Many of his statements in response to the Grand Jury Report are directly contradicted by the Church’s own documents and records from their Secret Archives. Offering misleading statements now only furthers the cover up.” Shapiro added that the cardinal “should heed the words of Pope Francis who validated our work in Pennsylvania and support the recommendations of the Grand Jury.”
The grand jury report outlines in graphic detail allegations of child sex abuse in six Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, including the diocese of Pittsburgh. It is based on witness testimony and a review of internal documents from the dioceses. The report concludes that the abuse of children was “brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institution above all.”
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