Priest Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Cardinals Rigali And Bevilacqua For Covering Up Child Rape

NBC PHILADELPHIA: Only days after three Philly priests and a teacher were charged with raping boys, a new lawsuit popped up against the archdiocese, accusing top church staff of conspiracy. A national advocacy group alleges that high-ranking Roman Catholic clergy in the Philadelphia Archdiocese conspired to cover up criminal acts by two priests who the group says sexually assaulted the same boy in the 1990s. Barbara Blaine of the group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said a lawsuit will be filed Monday naming archdiocesan officials and staffers, including Cardinal Justin Rigali and retired Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. The group says the Villanova-based Augustinians also will be named a defendant. Blaine said the lawsuit will contend that the archdiocese “continues to tolerate and actively conceal the sexual abuse of children.” MORE