Springfield Diocese sets services to show ‘solidarity’ with clergy abuse victims

By Anne-Gerard Flynn
Republican
March 26, 2019

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Springfield Roman Catholic Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski has set services on April 7 to show solidarity with victims of clergy sexual abuse. Photo by Don Treeger

A Prayer Service for Healing to show “solidarity” with victims of clergy sex abuse will be held Sunday, April 7, at 2 p.m at St. Michael’s Cathedral, 254 State St.

The service is part of Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski’s efforts announced in February to hold dialogue and prayer sessions as a “sign of our collective commitment to victims that we are truly sorry for our church’s past failure and remain steadfast in our ongoing efforts to prevent any future abuse.”

A similar service will be held the same day and time at St. Joseph Church in Pittsfield.

Rozanski held four “listening and dialogue” sessions around the issue of clergy abuse of minors in the diocese with the first Feb. 6 at Mary, Mother of Hope Parish, and the three others at parishes in Pittsfield, Westfield and concluding March 24 in Northampton.

More than a dozen attorneys general around the country are said to be investigating or reviewing claims of clergy abuse in the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report in August that found “credible” allegations against more than 300 “predator priests” in Pennsylvania who were said to have sexually abused more than 1,000 children in cases going back to the 1940s.

Last month, in response to what Rozanski said were “renewed concerns within our Catholic community” after the report’s release, the diocese, which covers the four counties of Western Massachusetts, also published in its magazine and online its procedures for handling abuse allegations and reporting them to law enforcement as well as data on abuse reports dating to 1986 and link to occurrences back to the 1930.

The report shows that the Springfield diocese, which has had an independent review board since 1994, has paid out nearly $15 million in settling 147 claims since 1992.

It also shows the diocese has paid $2.25 million for therapy and counseling for victims of abuse with more than $150,000 paid in 2018.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said data on what the diocese said were the number of yearly abuse reports back to 1986 did not match referrals in his possession and he established a hotline in February for victims and their families to report sexual abuse by members of clergy in Hampden County.

The diocese has a website with information and numbers for reporting abuse.