Pennsylvania found 300 predatory priests. The other 49 states are grappling with what to do next.

A Pennsylvania grand jury investigation identified more than 300 Catholic priests accused of sexual abuses, and their names were released earlier this month. The report has left the Catholic laity reeling, but it raises an even more troubling point: What about the other 49 states?

State attorneys general are facing the same question, but so far, only a few have taken action.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) is working with the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the diocese of Kansas City, both of which volunteered to give his office access to their records. He has asked for similar transparency from other Catholic dioceses in his jurisdiction. "If they don't [allow scrutiny]," Hawley told The Hill, "we will certainly let the public know that too."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In Illinois, Attorney General Lisa Madigan (D) is scheduled to meet with the Chicago Archdiocese, as well as dioceses in Joliet and Rockford. Attorneys general in New York, Florida, and Kentucky have also initiated inquiries, though in the former two states they will have to work through district attorneys' offices.

In many states, however, attorneys general do not have the legal authority to launch this sort of investigation. "Some [attorneys general] have direct power to issue subpoenas in criminal manners," explained political scientist Paul Nolette of Marquette University. "Others have to rely on a grand jury that has to be called by them or called by local prosecutors. And some don't have any power at all," limiting their options no matter how much they want to catch predators in the clerical hierarchy.