Penn Live is reporting that another Grand Jury is about to release a damning report on the Catholic Church’s dirty little secrets regarding the rape and sexual assaults on children and vulnerable adults. Will this make the people of Pennsylvania stand up and say it is time to confront this issue and the organization that has been providing cover for the criminal acts of priests? I don’t think it will matter.
You can read the article at PENN LIVE!
If the boys in black at the Chancery Building in Scranton aren’t sweating, they should be.
If something is not done, I won’t be surprised if people start taking matters into their own hands.
I would like to know why many survivors, including myself, who contacted the office responsible for conducting the investigation were never called in for an interview. As I wait to read the report, I know that no matter how damning it may be, it is only the tip of the iceberg. I also know that all the Bishop’s lawyers will do everything in their small minded power to bury all of it.
It may be time for torches and pitchforks!
Off My Knees - A Blog by Michael Baumann 
Dear Michael Bauman,
I contacted the PA Attorney General’s hotline for abuse victims of Roman Catholic Priests in Sept 2016. I found the number through fellow survivors. I did not see the number otherwise published or publicized, so I was certain it would be a sham.
I spoke with 3 people over about a week; the 3rd conversation very detailed with an investigator claiming that a childhood friend was abused and subsequently killed himself. I found newspaper reports in Pittsburgh media that such a victim DID commit suicide; so I took this man at his word.
I kept my own detailed notes of the conversation with the investigator. I noted a specific priest who had molested me around 5th grade at St Margaret’s in Greentree PA; and noted another priest who had molested me in 1st grade (also at St Margaret’s). I told him of other related activity. I used to be the paperboy who delivered the Post Gazette to the rectory. I knew a lot. My friend’s dad was a Pittsburgh Police Detective. It was sickening.
At any rate, I did NOT get called to testify before the Grand Jury; and the ~~~ ‘oh-so-sympathetic-and-caring’ investigator never called me back — just left me hanging — forever.
I took it that:
A) They already knew everything I was talking about.
B) That the fix was most-certainly in.
St Margaret’s & the entire Diocese of Pittsburgh would never pay for destroying my life. I should have lashed out way back when I could. An absolute whitewash. I think eventually 3 altar boys from St Margaret’s killed themselves. Oh.
I know way, way more than I could type here.
They know it too. They knew it then. They know it now. They just don’t care — because if the literal demented insanity of the Bishop Leonard era in Pittsburgh ever came to light… more than pitchforks would be needed, Buddy.
I did see an effort made to let survivors and families of victims know about this investigation. I live in Virginia now, I am not really dialed into Pennsylvania news, but I was aware of what was going on. I had access to phone numbers for the investigator working the Diocese of Scranton and had links available on this blog. While I don’t spend a lot of time working on this blog for personal reasons, I will occasionally put things up when I think they are relevant. I did posts on the investigation back in 2016 because, for some reason, readers come here in numbers that perplex me even though I am not actively writing.
I am going to reserve judgment on whether the fix is in until I read the report. I would imagine that the investigators were overwhelmed with information and that not all of it could be vetted in the time allotted. I know with my perp, the Diocese admitted to only four other reports. I have talked to over forty people who could describe his MO in frightening detail. I think they may have been surprised at the extent of the criminal activity.
The “C” choice may be that they were overwhelmed by survivors.
We shall see!
I understand your frustration. But I am willing to give the investigators the benefit of the doubt until I have a real reason to cry foul.
http://triblive.com/local/regional/13507072-74/erie-diocese-ids-34-priests-17-lay-people-accused-of-abuse Sorry to read that you did not get to tell your story. Hopefully this list is a sign that they know we are not going to take it anymore