Santorum meets with group upset by his comments on priest abuse

WASHINGTON - A key Pennsylvania senator assured a group of advocates Thursday he would look into why the Justice Department has yet to respond to their request for an investigation of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.

The meeting between Sen. Rick Santorum, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and three members of the Survivors Networks of those Abused by Priests was arranged after some members expressed outrage over a column Santorum wrote.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., criticized the 2002 column in a rare personal attack on Santorum last week on the Senate floor. The column linked Boston's liberalism to the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church.

The three members said Santorum stood by his comments, but they were pleased he agreed to contact the Justice Department.

"It's hard to say until we see what happens next," said Peter Isely, a national board member for the group.

Tammy Lerner, a member from New Tripoli, Pa., said they did not ask Santorum for an apology. Instead, they asked for help in affecting change that would lead to more prosecutions, she said.

"He made a commitment to doing that," Lerner said.

That is more important than Santorum's written opinions, Isely said.

"What really helps is prosecution and jail time and getting this institution within the laws of the United States," Isely said.

The 2003 report by the organization filed with the Justice Department accuses the Catholic church of "conspiratorial acts" such as paying for sex offenders to move across state lines and withholding information about sex offenders.

The Justice Department did not respond to a request Thursday afternoon seeking comment on the report.

After the meeting, Santorum said he had not seen the group's report, but he would work to try to get a response.

"I'm going to do my best to try to be helpful," Santorum said.

Santorum wrote in the column, "When the culture is sick, every element in it becomes infected. While it is no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."

Kennedy last week said Santorum should apologize.

Santorum said Thursday the column was written when the scandal was emerging in Boston, and he was not specifically attacking the city but the general culture.

"They clearly understand the context, but I think people are using it for political purposes and I think they understand that too," Santorum said Thursday.

The three members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests also met Thursday with staff members of Kennedy and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.