A Roman Catholic diocese accused of a
decadeslong cover-up of child sex abuse by clergy has reached an
agreement with federal prosecutors on reforms to prevent future abuse
and to provide better help for victims, including new reporting
requirements and the creation of an independent oversight board.
The reforms announced Monday by Acting U.S. Attorney Soo
Song and Bishop Mark Bartchak of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese also
requires the church to hire an outside expert to develop a new sex abuse
prevention program for its priests, which it already has done.