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Some priests accused of child sexual abuse were sent to psychiatric clinics for treatment

At least 30 priests accused of child sex abuse in Pennsylvania went briefly to St. Luke Institute. But some recommendations from staff were ignored.
Credit: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Parishioners worship during a mass to celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St Paul Cathedral, the mother church of the Pittsburgh Diocese on August 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Though Pennsylvania enacted the first U.S. law 55 years ago that required mandatory reporting of child abuse to law enforcement, its Catholic dioceses didn't take it to heart.

Those first laws in the state placed the duty to report abuse on doctors and other medical staff. At least three states — Nebraska, Tennessee and Utah — required all people to report evidence of child abuse, according to a September 2014 Villanova Law Review article.

But much of the damage that Pennsylvania's abusive priests inflicted didn't leave bruises. And when those priests were discovered, bishops and other priests who were called on to investigate the allegations didn't treat them as crimes and rarely told law enforcement.

Instead, St. Luke Institute in the Washington suburb of Adelphi, Maryland, keeps appearing in the 900-page grand jury report released Tuesday. In total, at least 30 priests were sent there.

The report, which lists 301 priests in six Catholic dioceses accused of child abuse, names psychiatric treatment centers as part of the church's plan in dealing with problem priests.

Other treatment centers mentioned include St. John Vianney, a church-run facility in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, where at least 17 priests were sent, and Southdown Institute, a psychiatric facility in Ontario, Canada, where several others took sabbaticals.

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