Report: Lawsuit accuses late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of sex assault

A new lawsuit is accusing the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua of sexual assault, according to reports.

Bevilacqua led the Archdiocese of Philadelphia from 1988 until he retired in 2003. He died in 2012.

Two civil lawsuits were filed Friday against the Pittsburgh archdiocese.

MORE: Pennsylvania priests molested over 1,000 children, per report | Key dates in the Pennsylvania church abuse scandal

In one of the suits, a 45-year-old woman claims Bevilacqua touched her chest when she was a child at St. Gabriel's Church. At that time, Bevilacqua led the Archdiocese of Pittsburgh.

Two other priests are also named in the lawsuits.

The accusations follow a landmark Pennsylvania grand jury report that claimed over 1,000 children in six Catholic dioceses have been abused since the 1940s.

For the full grand jury report, see here.

---

RELATED:

UsNews