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Grand jury to examine priest abuse charges

Long Island diocese faces district attorney scrutiny

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A grand jury will investigate sexual abuse allegations against priests in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said Thursday.

The grand jury, believed to be the first in the nation to examine the issue of molestation by priests in the Roman Catholic Church, will also investigate how the diocese handled claims of abuse.

This special grand jury, which differs from a regular grand jury in that it hears only one case, will investigate "the policies, procedures and manners in which the Diocese of Rockville Centre investigated these serious allegations, most of which appear to have been criminal in nature," Spota said.

A spokeswoman for the Rockville Centre Diocese, which covers all of Long Island, said the diocese has provided the district attorney with everything he has asked for since the outset of his investigation. "We're continuing to provide him with the material he's asked for and we will cooperate fully with the grand jury when it's convened," said Joanne Novarro.

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The order to impanel a special grand jury, a move district attorney spokesman Bob Clifford called rare, comes amid a growing scandal involving priests accused of molesting children.

Clifford said that over the past few weeks, the district attorney's office has received dozens of calls as a result of the media's coverage of the scandal, "the majority of the calls being from those who have been abused."

The diocese put on administrative leave every priest against whom an allegation of abuse had been lodged, Novarro said last month. She declined to say the specific number of priests on leave from their parishes.

Spota received state court approval for his order on Wednesday. Clifford said two assistant district attorneys will oversee the 23-member grand jury.

Clifford would not confirm reports that the grand jury will begin its work by the end of April. He said the grand jury will be empowered to subpoena documents and individuals statewide as part of its investigation, but he could not reveal potential witnesses that may be called.

At the conclusion of their investigation -- which has no timetable -- jurors could issue indictments or a report, Clifford said.

The diocese is part of the Archdiocese of New York, whose cardinal, Edward Egan, on Thursday vowed that acts of pedophilia in the church "will not continue."