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	Grand Jury Probe of Diocese Sought Advocates Cite Philadelphia Findings That Abusive Priests Weren't Removed By Ann Rodgers Post-Gazette [Pittsburgh PA] September 28, 2005 Three advocates for victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests met with Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. yesterday, asking for a grand jury investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. The meeting came on the heels of a Philadelphia grand jury report that castigated the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for past failure to remove such priests, though the cases were too old to prosecute. The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a national group, pointed out that Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, archbishop of Philadelphia from 1988 to 2003, was bishop of Pittsburgh from 1983 to 1988. "Only the most naive would believe that abuse, deceit and cover-up in Pittsburgh's Catholic hierarchy suddenly and magically ended with Bevilacqua's departure," said a letter that activists presented to Zappala. They held a news conference outside the courthouse after earlier leafletting outside St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland, and Zappala invited them in. The grand jury report detailed one case in which Bevilacqua, when he was bishop of Pittsburgh, accepted a New Jersey priest who had been convicted of molesting a 14-year-old boy. The grand jury report said that Bevilacqua brought the priest here over the objections of the Rev. Nicholas Dattilo -- then his vicar for clergy, later bishop of Harrisburg -- and that Bishop Donald Wuerl removed the priest from his Pittsburgh assignment soon after taking charge here in 1988. The actions of Datillo and Wuerl are "somewhat encouraging" but not reassuring, said David Clohessy, of St. Louis, the national director of SNAP. "Virtually every diocese can point to one or two cases that were seemingly handled well. That doesn't mean there was no cover-up," he said. Clohessy said he spent about an hour with Zappala and one of his assistant district attorneys, and that Zappala promised to read the Philadelphia report. "We talked long and hard about the need to aggressively urge witnesses and victims to come forward, and he said he would consider taking some steps along those lines," Clohessy said. Reached later in the day, however, Zappala said it is unlikely he would take the matter to a grand jury because at this point there isn't any evidence a crime has been committed. The Rev. Ronald Lengwin, spokesman for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, said he had no comment on whether there should be a grand jury investigation, because that was a decision for civil authorities.
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