Federal investigators have launched a broad and unprecedented investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, issuing subpoenas to dioceses across Pennsylvania and bringing a potent set of law-enforcement tools to follow up on a scathing state grand jury report, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. All Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania have already undergone state- or county-level grand jury investigations, but longtime advocates for victims never have seen a federal effort on this scale. “It’s something we always we wished for but thought would never happen,” said Judy Jones of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. “Now it’s happening, and it’s all because of the Pennsylvania grand jury. Hopefully this is going to spread into other states.” She said victims are “very excited about this,” especially after their disappointment Wednesday when a measure they favored, enabling lawsuits over long-ago abuse, died in the Pennsylvania Senate.
The Associated Press, which first reported the subpoenas, said federal authorities sought documents in the church’s so-called “secret archives,” and records related to the dioceses’ organizational charts, finances, insurance coverage, clergy assignments, treatment and other documents. The subpoenas issued by U.S. Attorney William McSwain in Philadelphia demanded the 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. An Aug. 14 report of a statewide grand jury into six Catholic dioceses reported that more than 300 priests had abused more than 1,000 children across seven decades. “I think this is really good news, and it’s a long time coming,” said David Hickton, former U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh and now a professor of law at the University of Pittsburgh.