Catholic church in Pa. had ‘playbook’ to keep priest abuse secret
Bishop Donald Trautman, of Erie, Pa., addresses the general meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, June 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
On July 17, 1990, Father Thomas Smith wrote to his bishop, Donald Trautman, thanking him for meeting with him and expressing appreciation for the bishop’s faith in him and his quest to return to the active ministry.
At the time, Smith, who had served at a number of churches in the Erie diocese in northwestern Pennsylvania, was on leave of absence, his third such leave since being ordained as a Catholic priest in 1967.
His absences were termed, in diocese records, as “health leaves.”
The reality of the matter is each of the leaves occurred after the church received reports that Smith had raped children, the diocese responding to the reports by sending Smith to a church-run treatment facility, according to
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