New York Catholic dioceses subpoenaed in abuse probe
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York and New Jersey launched new investigations into the Roman Catholic Church's handling of clergy sex abuse allegations Thursday as the number of similar inquiries around the country continues to grow.
In New York, the state's attorney general issued subpoenas to all eight of the state's Catholic dioceses seeking any and all documents pertaining to allegations, findings from internal church investigations and payments to victims, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly.
In New Jersey, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced a new task force that will look at how abuse allegations were handled in the seven dioceses in that state.
The investigations come three weeks after a grand jury report found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests in Pennsylvania since the 1940s. The report accused senior church officials of orchestrating a systematic cover-up to protect the church from scandal. Attorneys general in Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri have since announced investigations into allegations of clergy abuse or cover ups in local dioceses.
Church leaders in New York confirmed receipt of the subpoenas Thursday, and vowed to work with Attorney General Barbara Underwood's civil investigation — as well as any potential criminal investigations to come. The subpoenas were issued to the Archdiocese of New York in New York City as well as the dioceses of Albany, Brooklyn, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Ogdensburg and Rockville Centre.