www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall PA DA investigation

''So far, seven out of eight Pennsylvania dioceses — Erie, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Allentown, Scranton, Pittsburgh and Greensburgh — have confirmed they have received subpoenas, some stating they will cooperate with the investigation. Two Eastern Catholic dioceses are also being investigated: the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparhcy of Philadelphia."

I hope that there are not many skeletons in our closet

Christ is in our midst!!

The AP story in our newspaper this morning stated that "if federal prosecutors can show that church leaders systematically covered up for child-molesting priests in the past five years, dioceses could also be charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, or RICO, the law originally passed to bring down the Mafia."

"McSwain (the federal prosecutor assigned to this investigation) also demanded bishops turn over any evidence that anyone in their ranks took children across state lines for illicit purposes; sent sexual images or messages via phone or computer; instructed anyone not to contact police; reassigned suspected predators; or used money or other assets as part of the scandal."

This last seems to suggest that paying money as part of confidential settlements could be deemed to be part of an act chargeable under RICO.

I've wondered if this could put a diocese out of business altogether. RICO demolished Mafia operations completely when it was used in court and cases were decided against the them. Guess I'll have to wait and see.