PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Parents of children in the Roman Catholic Church and survivors of sexual abuse by clergy are suing Pennsylvania’s eight dioceses and their bishops to compel them to release information about allegations.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Pittsburgh comes a month after a statewide grand jury report detailed sexual abuse allegations against more than 300 priests over decades in six dioceses. The lawsuit alleges the dioceses haven’t met their obligations to report child sexual abusers under state law.
An attorney for the two lead plaintiffs says the lawsuit does not seek any money, but instead asks for greater public transparency for parents about abuse allegations.
Several spokespeople for the dioceses say they cannot comment until they have seen the lawsuit. Messages left for several dioceses were not immediately returned Monday.
