Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on an amicus curiae brief filed today with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court:
In light of the extreme and questionable actions of the Attorney General of Pennsylvania in conjunction with the recently released Grand Jury Report, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights today filed an Application for Leave to File an Amicus Curiae Brief with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The Catholic League believes that anyone who hurts a child must be investigated and, when appropriate, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Such investigations and prosecutions must however be conducted in accordance with the protections required by the United States Constitution and, in this instance, the Pennsylvania Constitution.
There is perhaps no greater threat to liberty than a politically motivated prosecutor. When those motivations extend beyond individuals who have engaged in criminal wrongdoing—targeting an entire religion—the threat is cataclysmic to all faiths.
This is not the first time that Attorney General Josh Shapiro has used the power of his office to single out the Catholic Church in order to impugn its moral integrity. We urge the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to take the steps necessary to ensure a grand jury process grounded in the Constitutional protections of due process, reputation and religious freedom.
