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Report on Child Sexual Abuse in Catholic Church Set to Be Released

POTTSVILLE, Pa. — For Catholics around the Commonwealth, the wait will soon be over. An investigation into child sexual abuse by priests and members of th...

POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- For Catholics around the Commonwealth, the wait will soon be over.

An investigation into child sexual abuse by priests and members of the clergy is set to be released any time between now and next Tuesday.

The report identifies more than 300 “predator priests” across the state.

People in Pottsville said their Diocese is no stranger to the problem.

One man we spoke to didn’t want his face shown on camera, but said his friend was sexually assaulted by a priest in Schuylkill County when he was 12-years-old.

“I said to him, ‘Why don't you say something?’ He said, ‘Well I'm too old now and I don't want to get him in trouble,’” the man said.

He went on to say his friend finally opened up about the abuse forty years later.

“It's horrible for his life. How are you supposed to talk about it? It's horrible. It's really horrible,” He said.

Monsignor William Jones of St. Patrick Church in Pottsville was accused of sexual misconduct.

He spoke to Newswatch 16 in 2002 before those allegations surfaced about the problem of clergy abusing children.

“Give them direction, give them guidance, give them help - psychiatric help, but don't move them around and try to hide it,” Jones said in that 2002 interview.

Soon after, Jones left the church.

Susan Yullah of Pottsville didn’t know the pastor, but she’s glad he’s not around children anymore.

“He shouldn't be there. I've known people that have expressed to me that it has happened to them,” Yullah said.

People we spoke to said they really feel for the victims in these cases because it can take years to get over this kind of abuse.

“Just for themselves to overcome, emotionally and mentally, it’s just a lot of damage to people,” Yullah said.

People in Pottsville hope there’s action once the report is released.

“I think they should be in jail for doing what they’re doing to these kids because kids don't deserve that,” Maura Skwait of Pottsville said.

“I hope that they suffer the consequences,” John Sadusky of Pottsville said.

The release period for that report began on Tuesday. It could come out any time over the next week.

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