[ti:US Officials Open Catholic Clergy Abuse Investigation in Pennsylvania] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.00]Federal officials in the United States reportedly [00:03.13]are investigating child sexual abuse inside the Roman Catholic Church. [00:10.97]The Associated Press reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation [00:17.55]has officially demanded documents and statements [00:22.12]from church leaders in Pennsylvania. [00:25.96]The orders were presented to church officials last week, the AP says. [00:33.20]In August, a grand jury released a report about such accusations. [00:40.67]The report accused 301 priests in Pennsylvania [00:45.89]of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children over 70 years. [00:52.97]It also said that high-level church officials [00:57.26]hid the activities to protect the accused. [01:02.04]Federal government lawyers, called prosecutors, are now taking action. [01:08.72]That is what two people who were not permitted [01:12.35]to discuss the investigation told AP. [01:16.87]They spoke to the AP on the condition [01:20.74]that the news group would keep their identities secret. [01:25.08]Marci Hamilton is a University [01:28.89]of Pennsylvania professor and leader of Child USA, [01:34.35]a nonprofit research group for child abuse prevention. [01:39.89]She said such action would be important. [01:44.38]"The federal government has so far been utterly silent [01:49.42]on the Catholic cases," she added. [01:52.74]U.S. Attorney William McSwain of Philadelphia released the orders [01:59.40]for the documents and statements by Catholic officials. [02:03.92]He said he wants to know if officials such as priests, bishops, [02:10.58]seminarians or other Catholic leaders carried out any federal crimes. [02:17.61]Such crimes could include taking children across state lines for illegal purposes, [02:25.37]sending sexual images or messages electronically [02:30.38]or ordering anyone not to contact police. [02:35.58]McSwain also said he wants to know if Catholic officials [02:41.22]moved suspected abusers to other areas or used money [02:46.94]or other possessions as part of such wrongdoing. [02:52.17]The order seeks private church records. [02:56.27]The AP's unidentified individuals said government lawyers [03:02.54]are also seeking records on the local Church's organization and finances. [03:09.91]Details of where clergy worked and the treatment of priests are also being sought. [03:18.45]The Pennsylvania grand jury report was almost 900 pages. [03:25.66]It found that church leaders systematically hid evidence of wrongdoing. [03:32.55]However, the report said only two priests could be charged [03:38.38]because of time limits on legal action for such crimes. [03:43.97]Many accused priests have already died. [03:48.25]Legal experts said local Roman Catholic Churches could possibly be charged [03:55.72]under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. [04:03.40]That federal law, passed by Congress in 1970, is meant to fight organized crime. [04:12.26]I'm Caty Weaver. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM