The dam is about to break

Church Militant has learned exclusively that the attorney general office of the state of New York is now outlining plans for a Pennsylvania-style grand jury report.

Before we get to that, it was just announced that the publisher of Cdl. Donald Wuerl's upcoming book has yanked the deal, canceling publication. The book had been titled What Do You Want to Know? and was described as Cdl. Wuerl's advice to everyday Catholics when inviting non-Catholics to friendship.

There are eight dioceses in the state of New York, including the archdiocese of New York, with 7.3 million Catholics throughout the state and initial reports indicate that sexual abuse and specifically cover-up of that abuse by bishops is every bit as bad as in the state of Pennsylvania.

Church Militant spoke with New York State Attorney General Barbara Underwood, who told us:

The Attorney General has directed her Criminal Division leadership to reach out to local District Attorneys — who are the only entities that currently have the power to convene a grand jury to investigate these matters — in order to establish a potential partnership on this issue.

In the wake of the release of the Pennsylvania grand jury report, speculation around the country has begun that grand juries should be convened in every state — an idea that fed-up faithful Catholics are now supporting publicly.

Brad Miner: "I'm in favor, frankly, of 50 grand juries, including, you know, we've already had one in Pennsylvania, but we need one in the District of Columbia too — so that makes 50. Every single state, we got to do this, and it's got to be the civil authorities, I'm sorry to say."

Joining Miner are the likes of Illinois State Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke, who was a member of the 2002 U.S. bishops' national review board. Burke says, "I think every state should convene a grand jury into this culture of secrecy that protected offenders at all costs."

Miner's and Burke's public sentiments may soon become a reality. In addition to the Pennsylvania grand jury, Nebraska is now sending signals that it too is prepping for the possible convening of its own grand jury. This as a result of revelations of homosexual predation on seminarians in the diocese of Lincoln.

But the eight Catholic dioceses in New York could prove to be a target-rich environment for any grand jury investigation.