The Philadelphia Investigating Grand Jury Report into Allegations of Clergy Sexual Abuse in The Archdiocese of Philadelphia is now on a 3-disc CD set. Marci Hamilton provides an eloquent foreword and the total document is well read by a variety of easy-to-listen-to voices. Of all the Grand Jury Reports into U.S. dioceses this is the model for investigation of the pattern and practice of Catholic clergy abuse and the cover-up perpetrated by authorities. The investigation began and the first Grand Juries was impaneled in 2003; the report was published in 2005 under the asepsis of District Attorney Lynne Abraham who authorized the investigation. A courageous team of Deputy District Attorneys including Charles Gallagher and William Spade navigated their way through the files and allegations against 62 Philadelphia priests—less than half the number of implicated clergy in the church files. 

This document is an important resource for anyone looking into the Catholic crisis and the dynamics of clergy abuse. It also demonstrates that the current Statutes of Limitations are restrictive in addressing the problem of abuse of minors in the State of Pennsylvania.

Children are not sufficiently protected from abuse under current laws that give preference to the abuser over the victim.

An important document. Available from Cherry Hill Publishing

http://www.cherryhillpublishing.com/Bookstore.htm