பிலடெல்பியா ஆர்ச் டயஸீஸின் மீது குழந்தைகள் கற்பழிப்பு குற்றச்சாட்டு

தமிழ் கிறிஸ்துவர்களே
உடனே கிறிஸ்துவத்திலிருந்து வெளியேறி மானம் மரியாதையை காப்பாற்றிகொள்ளுங்கள்.

தமிழர்களே
கிறிஸ்துவ கும்பலிடம் எச்சரிக்கையாக இருங்கள்

Philadelphia Archdiocese faces new claims of sexual abuse
PHILADELPHIA | Mon Mar 7, 2011 1:35pm EST


PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Attorneys on Monday said they were filing suit accusing a priest of sexual abuse and the former head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia of failing to stop the abuse.

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, now retired from the Philadelphia Archdiocese, knew of earlier sexual misconduct by the accused priest, said lawyer Marci Hamilton, one of the attorneys filing the lawsuit.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the sixth largest in the United States with 1.5 million Catholics, is under fire over accusations it concealed the sexual abuse of children by priests in an effort to avoid a costly scandal.

Bevilacqua was named in an earlier civil suit, filed last month on behalf of a 28-year-old man, that accuses him and Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, of concealing the identity and sexual abuse of predatory priests.

The victim of the latest suit was scheduled to appear at a news conference on Monday in Philadelphia, Hamilton said.

The victim claims to have been abused by the priest from 1994 to 1997, she said.

A Philadelphia grand jury recently said as many as 37 priests remain in active ministry despite solid and credible allegations of sexual abuse.

Hamilton said more lawsuits alleging abuse against the Archdiocese could be expected.

The grand jury findings led to criminal charges against two priests, a former priest and a teacher for allegedly assaulting two boys, and a monsignor supposedly investigating the abuses was charged with failing to protect the victims.

In response to the grand jury report, Rigali said the Archdiocese would reopen 37 cases of possible child sexual abuse and placed three priests on administrative leave.

Since the priest sex scandals first erupted in the United States in Boston nearly a decade ago, Roman Catholic archdioceses have collectively paid some $2 billion in settlements to victims.

(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)