Sex abuse is a serious problem within the Catholic Church, with hundreds of priests and other religious officials allegedly abusing their power to victimize children.

A class action investigation has been launched into allegations of Catholic sex abuse that impacted Pennsylvania residents who were subjected to this trauma by clergy members.

According to a recent grand jury report, over 300 priests in the state of Pennsylvania had allegedly abused over 1,000 children. Internal documents from six Catholic dioceses had indicated that hundreds of “predator priests” had been victimized thousands of children, according to CNN.

However, the report indicates the number is likely much higher, because many victims are likely still afraid to come forward. The grand jury reportedly accused the church of hiding the allegations of Catholic sex abuse, and that the organization’s methods were like “a playbook for concealing the truth,” which were discovered by FBI agents reviewing the diocese files.

According to the report, cases of Catholic sex abuse were documented from as early as 1947 in six different dioceses including Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. An additional two dioceses, Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown, are included in early grand jury reports, which reportedly found similar instances of Catholic sex abuse that was allegedly carried out by clergy and bishops in those dioceses.

Overview of Catholic Sex Abuse Allegations

According to one of the alleged Catholic sex abuse cases, a priest had impregnated a 17-year-old and had forged a pastor’s signature on a marriage certificate. The man then divorced the girl, but was reportedly allowed to stay in the ministry by a “benevolent bishop.”

In another case from Harrisburg, a priest allegedly victimized five sisters from the same family and had collected samples of their urine, pubic hair, and menstrual blood.

These instances of alleged Catholic sex abuse are difficult to read, as they are only snippets in the victims’ emotional hardships, with victims’ ages ranging from young children to teenagers. In addition to recent victims, the long lasting effects of Catholic sex abuse have been reported in older victims who have not spoken out until recently.

Even more depraved acts and younger children were described in the dioceses, but no action was taken against the alleged offenders. According to the investigators, all of these victims and their allegations were “brushed aside, in every part of the state, by church leaders who preferred to protect the abusers and their institution above all,” the grand jury report says.

Furthermore, the grand jury noted that almost every alleged case of Catholic sex abuse was “too old to be prosecuted.” However, there have been charges filed against two priests from an Erie diocese and the other from Greensburg diocese who have been allegedly abusing minors.

According to a recent news conference discussing the report, the Pennsylvania Attorney General had called this investigation the “largest, most comprehensive report into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church ever produced in the United States.”