ASSOCIATED PRESS: A third man has filed a civil lawsuit that says officials from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia covered up sexual assault allegations against a priest who molested him in the late 1960s. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in the city’s Court of Common Pleas says the man was assaulted as a boy by a priest from St. Francis Xavier parish and Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia. MORE
PREVIOUSLY: 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