Clergy abuse hotline calls 'surging' after scathing grand jury report

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Harrisburg Bishop Offers Forgiveness Mass A Pennsylvania bishop named in a grand jury report on sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy says he has "profound remorse" and offers his "heartfelt apology" to the victims. Harrisburg Bishop Ronald Gainer spoke Friday at a Mass of forgiveness. (Aug. 17)

A surge in calls to a clergy abuse hotline in Pennsylvania is breathing new life into a vast investigation of "predator priests" and Roman Catholic Church leaders accused of protecting them.

The hotline has drawn more than 300 calls since the release of a withering grand jury report last week claiming church leaders protected hundreds of accused priests at the expense of more than 1,000 abuse victims.

"We're answering every call and following up every lead," Joe Grace, spokesman for state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, told USA TODAY on Sunday.

The redacted report detailed the latest in a decades-long series of claims of abuse and protection leveled against the church across the nation and around the world. The report accuses church leaders in the state of discouraging victims from reporting to prosecutors the abuse claims that spanned more than 60 years.

Shapiro acknowledged "surging" claims in a social media post, adding that the investigation did not end with the release of the grand jury report.

"We have trained, dedicated agents on the line to listen to survivors and help," Shapiro said on Twitter. "This is an active and ongoing investigation."

More: 'Men of God hid it all': Church protected more than 300 'predator priests'

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Some of the accused have died, and statute of limitations laws prevent many others named in the report from facing criminal charges. Shapiro said the statute of limitations was a key tool in the "systematic coverup" by senior church officials in Pennsylvania and at the Vatican.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, now the archbishop of Washington, D.C., led the Pittsburgh diocese from 1988 until 2006. Wuerl is targeted in the report, but he issued a statement after its release and said it "confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse."

Shapiro said Wuerl "is not being truthful and forthright." He said Wuerl's statements contradict the church's own documents.

The grand jury compiled the information during a two-year investigation. Shapiro, in a news conference Tuesday, called the report an "honest and comprehensive accounting of widespread sexual abuse" in the dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton that minister to more than 1.7 million Catholics.

Previous investigations found widespread abuses in the Philadelphia Archdiocese and Altoona-Johnstown Diocese.

Despite statute of limitations laws, the grand jury did issue presentments against two priests. One pleaded guilty last month to charges that he sexually abused a 10-year-old boy more than 20 years ago. Another has been charged with felony child sex crimes.

The Vatican on Thursday condemned the activity cited in the report as "criminal and morally reprehensible.”

“Those acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and faith,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said in a statement. "The church must learn hard lessons from its past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur.”