We'll just keep this between you, me and God"

A grand jury did not indict current and former priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, due to statute of limitations of the variety of alleged crimes. The Philadelphia Inquirer has the story here and here.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia responded angrily yesterday to the grand jury's clergy abuse report, calling it "a vile, mean-spirited diatribe" driven by "unbridled cage-rattling and insidious pre-judgments about the Catholic Church."

At an afternoon news conference, one attorney for the archdiocese went so far as to label the document "anti-Catholic."

Go figure. Unfortunately for the archdiocese, there is a mountain of evidence drawn from memos over the years as church leaders reassigned and "hid" "problem priests" in other parts of the state and country. So, this will likely play out in the court of public opinion, which certainly isn't going to be good for the church, or for that matter, for politicians who knew and did nothing. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) has been very quiet on this issue when it comes to his state, as opposed to say, the Boston Archdiocese. Remember, he needs Catholic votes too.