JOHNSTOWN An application for notice of incorporation forming Friends and Family of Bishop McCort was shipped off to Harrisburg late last week, as Catholics in the area take another step toward coming to grips with what allegedly happened at one of their most sacred institutions the place where they send their children to be educated.

Still reeling from the revelation two months ago of alleged sexual abuse by a Franciscan friar employed at Bishop McCort Catholic High School, parents, alumni and financial supporters of the school were shocked when principal and longtime school employee Ken Salem was placed on leave with pay.

The response has been swift and harsh.

The hope is that a formal organization will help the group, now several hundred strong and growing, get a response as they demand answers to why Salem was placed on leave and seek information about the makeup of the board of directors.

Who is in charge at Bishop McCort High School? As far as we know, no one else has been suspended, said Tim Burns.

Burns, an Ebensburg lawyer and McCort graduate, is co-organizer of the friends group, which formed Monday, three days after Salems suspension.

After hitting a wall with his questions, Burns said he was more optimistic in recent days after speaking to Kathleen Gallagher, the Pittsburgh attorney representing Bishop McCort.

Im not saying its in bad hands, Im not saying its in good hands, Burns said of the school.I know a very good leader was put on leave.

Late Friday, Gallagher forwarded a copy of the schools bylaws to Burns.

As many as 50 former students at Bishop McCort have contacted lawyers alleging they were sexually molested by Brother Stephen Baker, a friar who worked at schools in Minnesota and Michigan before relocating to John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio, in the mid-1980s.

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