Over 300 Christian Priests Accused Of Sexually Abusing More Than 1000 Children In Pennsylvania

Over 300 priests belonging to six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania, United States have been accused of sexually abusing more than a 1000 children claims a grand jury report, CNN has reported.

This report released on Tuesday (14 August) investigates sexual abuse cases dating back to 1947 which involves members of the clergy. The six Pennsylvanian dioceses under scrutiny are Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton. Earlier two other dioceses were investigated which too found similar allegations against the priests.

The report claims that priests were raping little boys and girls but the Christian clergy was involved in a cover-up. It further asserts that besides being shielded some of the accused Monsignors, auxiliary bishops, bishops, archbishops and cardinals have also been promoted.

Some of the disturbing allegations include priests raping a seven-year-old girl and five girls from the same family. In one instance a priest who abused several boys was given a recommendation to work at Disney World.

The grand jury claims that the number of victimised children might increase manifolds if lost records and victims afraid to come forward are counted. It has been claimed that virtually every incident is too old to prosecute, but charges have been filed against two priests. It is expected that there would be many more indictments in the future.