Court Orders Release Of PA Clergy Sex Abuse Grand Jury Report

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has approved releasing a redacted version of a grand jury report detailing widespread sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in six of the state's eight dioceses.

The 900-page report will be released as soon as Aug. 8, according to a ruling made Friday. The names of 300 "predator priests" will be temporarily redacted, the ruling notes.

Described by the Associated Press as the "biggest and most exhaustive ever" investigation into priest sex abuse by an individual state, the grand jury report details allegations at six of Pennsylvania's eight dioceses, including Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton.

The report was targeted for release last month, but The Pennsylvania Supreme Court blocked it from the public eye after legal challenges were filed. People named in the report said there wasn't enough of an opportunity to "protect their reputations," The Washington Post reported. The Post was one of 10 news organization that joined a brief urging the release of the report.

In a statement issued Friday, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said it had been his fear throughout the process that "the entire Grand Jury report would be shelved and victims’ truth would be silenced."

Friday's order ensures that will not be the case, he said.

“I will continue to fight to ensure every single victim is heard and every priest, bishop and church official is held accountable for their abhorrent conduct. No one victim’s truth is any less important than another and no one’s criminal conduct any less loathsome," Shapiro said in a statement.

RELATED: 'Widespread' Sex Abuse By PA Priests To Be Revealed In Report: AG

The grand jury investigation will reveal potentially damaging information that not only shows there was widespread abuse, but also "efforts to conceal and protect abusive priests," according to the Associated Press.

It is not the first time the state's Catholic churches have come under scrutiny.

In 2016, a Pennsylvania grand jury investigated the Altoona-Johnstown diocese. A report released after that investigation revealed hundreds of children were subjected to abuse that was masked by two bishops who averted probes into the claims and created a "payout chart" to quietly compensate victims based on the level of abuse.
RELATED: Catholic Bishops Hid Sex Abuse Of Hundreds Of PA Children: Grand Jury

More than 50 priests and religious leaders who served at churches across the state were implicated in a sex-abuse scandal dating back 40 years, the investigation into Altoona-Johnstown revealed. Criminal charges were not filed because many of the priests accused of abuse had died and the statute of limitations had expired.

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