From KYW 1060 news radio in Philly:
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A grand jury in Philadelphia has that found scores of priests sexually assaulted hundreds of children over decades and the archdiocese -- including Cardinals Krol and Bevilacqua and other church officials -- covered it up by transferring priests and enabling the abuse to continue.
But, KYW's Tony Hanson reports, no charges will be filed -- in large part because the statute of limitations has expired.
The scathing report, released Wednesday by Philadelphia DA Lynne Abraham, follows the nation's longest-running grand jury probe into priest abuse.
It names 63 priests "whose abusive behavior," it says, "was well-documented in archdiocese files and by witnesses who testified" before the grand jury.
Among the findings of the grand jury are that a priest once got an 11-year-old girl pregnant and took her for an abortion, that a teenage girl in a hospital bed was groped by a priest, and that a 12-year-old boy attempted suicide after being raped and sodomized by a priest. Today, as a man, he remains hospitalized in a mental institution.
The report says, "To protect themselves from negative publicity or expensive lawsuits -- while keeping abusive priests active -- the cardinals and their aides hid the priests' crimes from parishioners, police and the general public."
The DA concedes it's a travesty of justice -- that predator priests and those who covered up the crimes will not face the criminal penalties they deserve.
The grand jury recommends that the statute of limitations be abolished for crimes against children.
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