ALARMING

Calls to Clergy-Abuse Hotline Skyrocket After PA Grand-Jury Report

The Attorney General’s Office sent out special agents to help sift through tips about religious officials from more than 300 calls.

A clergy-abuse hotline manned by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has reported a spike in calls about potential abuse after the publication of a grand-jury report detailing allegations against hundreds of “predator priests.” By Friday, staffers had received 300 calls and emails with tips about potential wrongdoing by religious officials, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Specially trained agents have reportedly been called in to help review all the tips made over the hotline. “Our agents will call and speak to every person who has called the hotline, hear the facts, and investigate where appropriate,” Joe Grace, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, told the publication.