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This page is dedicated to the memory and advocacy of John Delaney. Rocky never pulled any punches, and neither did John.

Following prior government/ court investigations, the 2003 Philadelphia County Investigating Grand Jury is spoken of as the "Gold Standard" of investigations into the Church by law enforcement. The concluding Report is unique for the breadth and initial depth of what it uncovered. It introduced patterns of obfuscation by the Church in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (.pdf research archive), and by dioceses everywhere. DA Lynn Abraham did not just do what was overdue, but conducted this investigation in a way that had not been done before, thus making her a revered hero in the survivor community in Pennsylvania and beyond.

Brace yourself to read graphic and torturous material!

2005 Report, pp. 1-78. These pages introduce partial case files to illustrate the dynamics and mechanisms used by abuser priests to target children, and how Church hierarchy within the archdiocese managed the coverup and shuffling of accused priests.

Glossary of Terms (Appendix E).

Sites and timelines of child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (Appendix B).

63 Case files for named abusers are assembled in packets from throughout the Report. Included for each, as available, are material from Appendix C & A, Selected Case Studies (pp.79-418), and Appendix D:

Cardinal Rigali's talking points (.pdf archive) following release of the Report into his archdiocese would become the US Bishops' talking points when defending their own coverups: "Our reporting policies have changed considerably since 2002" and "In every single case of abuse reported to Archdiocesan officials, action was taken based on the best medical information available at that time." An example contrary to Rigali's words of assurance would haunt the American bishops more than a decade later. (.pdf archive for research and citation).

The official response (.pdf archive) of archdiocesan lawyers is contrary to the public's experience: "That a priest would use his holy office to prey upon vulnerable children entrusted to him affronts the sanctity of the priesthood and the Church."

District Attorney Response (.pdf archive): "The Archdiocese statement demonstrates that Church leaders have not used the recent exposure of the magnitude of child sexual abuse by priests as an opportunity to change."

Reporting by Katharine Q. Seelye of the New York Times (July 19, 2011) on the retirement of Cardinal Rigali: In Philadelphia, a Changing of the Guard in the Shadow of Scandal and .pdf archive for research and citation.

2018 Mass With Cardinal Rigali Begins Sesquicentennial Celebration in Diocese of Scranton. (.pdf archive for research and citation). Similarly disgraced Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahoney would have the sense to cancel his responsibilities as Papal Envoy to the closing of the sesquicentennial (.pdf).

Official April 22, 2021 Rigali Biography and .pdf archive for research and citation.

John Delaney in front of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul John Delaney  (.pdf for archive and research) and I were both sober when we began to talk about what had gone on in the name of the Church in Pennsylvania. We also compared notes on favorite spots in the Allegheny National Forest around Marienville. I know the area as a place to hike and ride atvs. He knew the area from treatment at Abraxis Youth Services, for damage done by Fr. James Brzyski at Saint Cecilia Parish in Philadelphia. John may have succumbed to things that plague many of us in the abuse survivor community. To me he was a survivor and sometime thriver, an exclamation mark within the story. Your sword had to be sharp whether you were his friend or his adversary. John was my coach as I prepared for a major advocacy trip to Japan and Rome in 2019. His grit and determination were what I needed in that period to get into better mental and physical shape. It was like we had this advocacy dojo where we challenged each other in constructive ways. Knowing what is at your core requires intentionality and a sense of self-presence, and that is where I met my friend John Delaney.

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response to predators