State’s Clergy Abuse Hotline Got 1,900 Calls Over First Year

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania’s top state prosecutor says investigations remain underway after 1,862 calls were made to his office’s clergy abuse hotline in the 12 months since a landmark grand jury report exposed decades of child abuse within the state’s Roman Catholic dioceses.  Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday that about 90 percent of those calls concerned allegations of abuse or cover-ups within the Catholic church. The rest were about institutions or people outside the Catholic church.  Shapiro calls it “a profoundly impactful experience” that he’s been stopped daily by people who are grateful for the investigation or want to tell him their own stories of victimization.  Pennsylvania dioceses have been evaluating claims and making payments through compensation funds established in the wake of the report.