“Somebody had to know:” PA grand jury report one year later
As parishioners exited Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Washington last week, the afternoon was warm and blue-sky sunny, much like Aug. 14, 2018, the day state Attorney General Josh Shapiro released an 884-page report based on grand jury testimony on a very dark topic: decades鈥� worth of sexual abuse by priests.
Investigators said they identified 301 priests in six dioceses, including Pittsburgh and Greensburg, who allegedly abused more than 1,000 children.
The report made headlines locally, nationally and internationally.
How do some Catholics view it one year later?
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been watching more,鈥� said one Washington resident who declined to give his name but identified himself as a member of St. Hilary Roman Catholic Church, Washington.
He鈥檚 seen the aftermath result in 鈥渕ore projects, keeping the people up to date, that鈥檚 about it,鈥� he said, adding that he personally found the information 鈥渟hocking how long it鈥檚 been going on without anybody knowing about it.鈥�
Then he briefly reconsidered his words.
鈥淚t was a lot of years. Somebody had to know.鈥�
There have been changes in the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, which includes Washington and Greene counties, since the grand jury report was made public. One is a drop-off in both the number of people attending Mass and in the amount of money in the collection basket.
According to an article published in the Pittsburgh Catholic this summer, Mass attendance fell 9% and offertory fell 11% after the report鈥檚 release. Prior to 2018, the annual average was a 4% fall off on attendance and a 1% decrease in donations.
The article specifically mentions the grand jury report, noting a few months after it was released, 鈥減arishioners also reacted to the October 2018 implementation of 鈥極n Mission for the Church!,鈥� which led to the transfer of many popular priests and changes in accustomed Mass times.鈥�
Smaller offerings impact parishes and the diocese. The article on the Pittsburgh Diocese notes it recently had to reduce its costs by $2.8 million, eliminating 32 jobs, a 20% cut in diocesan staff. It also cites a decade-long decrease in Catholic elementary schools by 40%.
The Pittsburgh diocese expanded its Diocesan Finance Council to include every county in the six-county area. Local members among 12 are Laura Coss of Greene County, a member of St. Mathias Parish, Waynesburg, and Laural Ziemba of Washington County, member of St. Benedict the Abbot Parish, McMurray.
The diocese pegged documented payments to assist victims at approximately $7 million, including $4.7 million in legal settlements since the first one recorded in 1991. The total also includes $2.3 million in other assistance to victims and survivors primarily for counseling since 2003.
In late 2018, the Pittsburgh Diocese announced the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, which plans to publish the aggregate amount of payments to victims and survivors by Jan. 1.
鈥淣o funds for the (compensation program) will come from 鈥極ur Campaign for the Church Alive!鈥�, Catholic Charities or any other funds designated for a specific use by the donor,鈥� according to the diocese鈥檚 report, Financial Costs Related to Sexual Abuse by Clergy. 鈥淣or have such funds been used in the past to compensate victims.鈥�
In the Greensburg diocese, which includes Fayette, Westmoreland, Indiana and Armstrong counties, the annual, diocesan-wide count of Mass attendance will be conducted in October, but spokesman Jerry Zufelt said, 鈥淲e attribute an approximately 4% decline in Mass attendance to the grand jury report.鈥�
However, 鈥渨eekly giving is matching last year鈥檚. The annual Diocesan Lenten Appeal met its goal of $3.4 million. It generated an additional $1.26 million for individual parishes to keep for their specific needs,鈥� according to Zufelt.
In February, Bishop Edward C. Malesic announced details of a Comprehensive Reconciliation Initiative, including a Survivors鈥� Compensation program and opportunities for counseling. Both are administered independently from the diocese by Commonwealth Mediation and Conciliation Inc., a private dispute-resolution company. Zufelt said it was important for Malesic to ensure the initiative included more than just financial help for the victims.
CMCI will provide a report about the compensation fund to the Diocese of Greensburg, and the diocese, Zufelt said, will make a full disclosure of the funds distributed through this program by the end of the summer.
Church closures, mergers
Church closures and mergers also made the news during the past year, restructuring done in the face of declining attendance, financial woes and a shortage of priests.
In October 2018, the Pittsburgh diocese had 188 parishes in 57 groupings. Nine months later, on July 1, the number of parishes had been reduced to 170 in 48 groupings.
In Washington County in February, four Roman Catholic churches in the Mon Valley were slated to close in March: 113-year-old St. Michael the Archangel in Fredericktown; St. Joseph, Roscoe, which dated to 1904; St. Thomas Aquinas, California, a 63-year-old structure; and Saints Mary and Ann in Marianna, a once thriving coal town where the mine closed due to an underground fire.
The closures took place as planned, and four churches are for sale. Parishioners have appealed the decisions to close both Sts. Mary and Ann and St. Michael the Archangel to the Vatican, and the matter will likely be resolved next year.
Greene Countians learned in May that all five Roman Catholic congregations would be merged into one, without closures, which took effect July 1.
Now known as St. Matthias Parish, the merger, which took effect July 1, affected St. Ann, Waynesburg; St. Hugh, Carmichaels; St. Ignatius, Bobtown; Our Lady of Consolation, Rice鈥檚 Landing, Nemacolin and Crucible; and St. Thomas, Clarksville and Jefferson.
Zubik, in a letter to parishioners, said the merged parishes would allow 鈥渇or more effective ministry by addressing serious financial problems, sharing resources and allowing the clergy to focus on the spiritual work for which they were ordained.鈥�
The Greensburg diocese has 78 parishes, the same number as a year ago. Its most significant consolidation was in June 2013 with the creation of St. Francis of Assisi parish.
Prayer and repentance
Malesic announced a day of prayer throughout the Diocese of Greensburg today marking the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report. All parish churches in the Diocese of Greensburg will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for private prayer with a special intention for those who have been abused and for the healing of the Church.
The Diocese of Pittsburgh concludes what is officially known as a Year of Repentance on Thursday with the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary. Mass will be celebrated at 6 p.m. tomorrow in St. Paul Cathedral.
Zubik said he chose to do this in conjunction with the Assumption 鈥渁s a sign of hope and healing for victims and for renewal in the Church through the intercession鈥� of the Virgin Mary.
Zubik inaugurated the special observance last September, asking 鈥渁ll clergy in the diocese to fast and pray for the purification of the Church in light of the scandal of child sexual abuse.鈥�
鈥淔aced with the sinful actions of the members of our own ranks of the clergy, who are called to manifest the example of Christ, we feel both shame and sorrow, and are reminded of our own sinfulness and the need for mercy,鈥� Zubik wrote in a letter to priests, deacons and seminarians of the diocese.鈥�