In a stunning reversal from the Catholic Diocese of Camden this week, Bishop Joseph A. Williams said his diocese will no longer oppose a statewide investigation of sexual abuse by clergy.
According to an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer on Monday, Williams said he asked the church’s attorneys to send a letter to the state Supreme Court about the shift in position. The diocese had been secretly waging the fight behind closed doors for the last six years.
“Our people need to hear this, the clergy needs to hear this, so that it never happens again, first of all,” Williams said. “But [also] so that we can do the right thing by the survivors to win their trust, restore their faith, and, God willing, someday maybe find them back in the communion of friendship and worship within the church.”
He later added: “We’re not going to block a grand jury. We’re not going to block a report. We’re not going to block a presentment or presentment report.”
The move comes just days after attorneys for the diocese argued before the state Supreme Court to block prosecutors from impaneling a grand jury. The church has argued for years that state law bars grand juries from preparing reports on private institutions like churches.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said it welcomes the new position, but it’s unclear whether the grand jury investigation will go forward since the court is already considering the earlier argument not to seat one.
