The Sanctity of the Confessional - How It Should Work:

[Igel]

8. They are reportable.

In Pennsylvania, a lot of the abuse was reported to the police soon after it was reported to the church. The grand jury saw no reason to put in information that didn't buttress their point. The grand jury assembles a prosecution's case, at best; it doesn't aim for objectivity.

There was often a long lag between when the abuse happened and when the church was notified. And often when the police investigated, even soon after the abuse was alleged to have happened, the investigation went nowhere. The abuser denied it--and with no more evidence, that was that. An abuser can always say he wasn't telling the truth to the priest in the confessional--that's a sin that can be forgiven without the court's blessing. But often the victim's parents said "no" to prosecution. After all, the chief witness is the kid.