FRANCIS THESE ARE THE MOST CHALLENGING DAYS OF HIS PAPACY.
SAVANNAH, CRAIG, BACK TO YOU.
>> BILL NEELY AT THE VATICAN FOR
US.
US. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. >> WE’RE JOINED BY ATTORNEY
GENERAL JOSH SHAPIRO.
GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
THANKS FOR COMING BY.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> THE GRAND JURY IN
PENNSYLVANIA, IT UNEARTHED WHAT
IT DESCRIBES AS SECRET ARCHIVES
FROM THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
THOSE ARCHIVES REPORTEDLY SHOW A
SYSTEMATIC COVER-UP OF CHILD SEX
ABUSE IN PENNSYLVANIA.
WHAT ELSE DID THOSE SECRET
ARCHIVES SHOW?
ARCHIVES SHOW? WHO HAD ACCESS TO THOSE
ARCHIVES.
ARCHIVES. >> 23 GRAND JURORS MET TWO YEARS
IN PENNSYLVANIA.
IN PENNSYLVANIA. THEY UNEARTHED MORE THAN 301
PREDATOR PRIESTS, MORE THAN A
THOUSAND VICTIMS, CHILDREN IN
PENNSYLVANIA.
PENNSYLVANIA. THEY FOUND THAT THERE WAS NOT
ONLY WIDESPREAD SEXUAL ABUSE,
RAPE OF CHILDREN, BUT THEY FOUND
THAT THERE WAS A SYSTEMATIC
COVER-UP THAT WENT ALL THE WAY
TO THE VATICAN.
WHAT WAS JUST SO PROFOUNDLY
HORRIFYING ABOUT THIS WAS CHURCH
LEADERS WOULD LIE TO
PARISHIONERS ON SUNDAY.
THEY WOULD LIE TO THE PUBLIC.
THEY WOULD SHIELD THESE
PREDATORS FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT
BUT THEN THEY WOULD DOCUMENT ALL
OF IT AND PLACE IT IN THE SECRET
ARCHIVES FEET AWAY --
>> LIKE PAPERS IN A CLOSET IN A
BOX.
BOX. OH, THIS IS WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
AND WE’RE GOING TO LOCK THE
DOOR.
DOOR. >> QUITE LITERALLY THEY WOULD
DOCUMENT IT YEARS AGO IN
HANDWRITING
HANDWRITING HANDWRITING.
HANDWRITING. >> WHY?
>> WHY? >> IN PARTS IT’S WHAT CANNON LIE
CALLS FOR BUT IN PART
INEXPLICABLE.
INEXPLICABLE. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO THINK WHAT
THESE MEN OF GOD DID TO THESE
CHILDREN AND THEN THE COVER-UP,
QUITE LITERALLY PURPOSEFUL.
THEY WERE DOING IT TO SHIELD
THESE PRIESTS FROM LAW
ENFORCEMENT.
ENFORCEMENT. IN PENNSYLVANIA WE HAVE A
LIMITATION ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME
LAW ENFORCEMENT CAN BRING
CHARGES AGAINST BOTH PREDATORS
AND THOSE WHO ENABLED THE
COVER-UP.
COVER-UP. THEY WOULD SHIELD THEM OR PASS
THEM AROUND FOR YEARS TO AVOID
LAW ENFORCEMENT.
LAW ENFORCEMENT. >> THAT BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT
QUESTION, WHICH IS YOU DROPPED
THESE YEARS LONG INVESTIGATION.
IT MAKES A HUGE SPLASH.
HAS YOUR OFFICE NOW BEEN GETTING
CALLS FROM OTHER VICTIMS?
IN PARTICULAR, ARE ANY OF THOSE
CASES, IN YOUR MIND, POTENTIALLY
PROSECUTABLE.
PROSECUTABLE. IN OTHER WORDS, WITHIN THE
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS, SOME
DISTRICT ATTORNEY COULD LOOK AT
A CASE AND PROSECUTE A PRIEST
FOR ABUSE.
FOR ABUSE. >> ONE OF THE THINGS WE’RE MOST
PROUD OF, WE GAVE VICTIMS THEIR
VOICE BACK, ALLOWED THEM TO HAVE
THEIR TRUE SHARE.
WE KNOW IN SHARING THEIR TRUTH
OTHER VICTIMS ARE GOING TO COME
FORWARD AND SHARE THEIR TRUTH.
I’LL TELL YOU IN THE ROUGHLY TWO
WEEKS SINCE WE RELEASED THE
REPORT WE’VE RECEIVED 733 CALLS
TO OUR SPECIAL CLERGY ABUSE HOT
LINE.
LINE. WE’RE TRACKING DOWN EACH AND
EVERY ONE OF THOSE TIPS, TALKING
TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE
PEOPLE THAT CALLED.
CERTAINLY IF WE CAN BRING A CASE
ON ANY OF THIS AGAINST ANY
PREDATOR PRIEST OR ANYONE WHO
COVERED IT UP, WE WILL DO SO.
>> DO YOU HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THE
POPE HAD KNOWLEDGE OR
PARTICIPATED IN A COVER-UP WITH
REGARDS TO THE PENNSYLVANIA
DIOCESE.
DIOCESE. >> WE HAVE EVIDENCE THAT THE
VATICAN THIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE
COVER-UP.
COVER-UP. I CAN’T SPECIFICALLY SPEAK TO
POPE FRANCIS.
POPE FRANCIS. BUT I THINK THE BROADER ISSUES
HERE WITH THE VATICAN KNOWING
ABOUT THIS, CHURCH LEADERS
KNOWING ABOUT IT AND REACTION
YOU’VE SEEP NOT JUST FROM
CATHOLICS BUT AMERICANS AND
PEOPLE ALL ACROSS THE GLOBE IS
JUST A FUNDAMENTAL
DISAPPOINTMENT AND ANGER IN
INSTITUTIONS.
INSTITUTIONS. WE’RE SEEING INSTITUTIONS,
WHETHER IT’S IN HOLLYWOOD,
WHETHER IT’S AT UNIVERSITIES,
WHETHER IT’S GOVERNMENT CENTERS
AND CERTAINLY WHETHER IT’S AT
THE CHURCH PUTTING THEIR OWN
INSTITUTIONAL REPUTATION ABOVE
THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN.
WE WILL NOT TOLERATE THAT IN
PENNSYLVANIA AND WE SHOULDN’T
TOLERATE IT ANYWHERE.
>> THIS WAS, AS I SAID, A
COMPREHENSIVE REPORT THAT WEPT
BACK 70 YEARS.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE GOING, THIS IS
ANCIENT HISTORY.
ANCIENT HISTORY. THIS ISN’T GOING ON ANYMORE.
IS IT?
IS IT? >> ONE OF THE BISHOPS SAID THAT
IN PENNSYLVANIA ABOUT OUR
REPORT.
REPORT. THIS IS WHAT I WOULD SAY BACK.
CHILD RAPE IN 1970 IS THE SAME
AS CHILD RAPE IN 2018.
IT IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE AND IT IS
NEVER OKAY TO COVER IT UP.