Penn. class action lawsuit seeks release of all sex abuse allegation records

Harrisburg, Pa., Sep 17, 2018 / 12:22 pm

A class action lawsuit filed Sept. 17 is seeking to require the Catholic dioceses of Pennsylvania to release all records involving allegations of child sexual abuse in the last 70 years.

The lawsuit, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, claims that the dioceses failed to meet their mandatory reporting obligations, the Tribune Review reports.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of abuse survivors and Catholic school students and parents, according to Pittsburgh's Action News 4.

Monday's suit comes after last month's release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report which found more than 1,000 allegations of abuse at the hands of some 300 clergy members in six dioceses in the state. It also found a pattern of cover up by senior Church officials.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had ordered a redacted version of the report to be released after numerous individuals named in the report cited concerns of due process and reputational rights guaranteed by the state constitution.

All six dioceses in the report have released the names of clerics with credible allegations of misconduct, or said that they plan to do so.