A man suing the Archdiocese of Philadelphia says clergy covered up
sexual assault allegations against a Roman Catholic priest who molested
him in the 1990s.
The lawsuit filed Monday in the city's Court of Common
Pleas says the plaintiff was assaulted as a boy from 1994 to 1997 at Our
Lady of Calvary parish in northeast Philadelphia.
He says archdiocese officials knew in 1994 that
Monsignor John Gillespie had a history of molesting boys but allowed him
to continue in his ministry.
The plaintiff says church officials also
lied and told his family Gillespie didn't have any history of molesting
children.
The suit follows criminal charges filed last month
against three priests and a high-ranking archdiocese official accused of
failing to protect children from predator priests.