First time members of a Catholic religious order charged with assisting an abuser. Three former leaders of a Franciscan religious order in Pennsylvania
have been charged over allowing a friar who was a known sexual predator
to repeatedly work with children, including as a high school athletic
trainer who massaged students naked.
The complaint, heard on Tuesday, was the first time
members of a Roman Catholic religious order have been charged with
aiding an abuser. While the church has faced thousands of lawsuits over
sexual abuse by members of the clergy in the past decade, criminal
prosecutions of the supervisors accused of covering up for abusers have
been rare.