Buffalo’s Bishop Rumored Resignation Should Not Prevent Investigations into the Diocese from Being Made Public

By Zach Hiner
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
November 13, 2019

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A new report is giving strength to rumors that the top Catholic official in Buffalo may soon be resigning. Regardless of whether or not this happens, we hope that that there will still be an investigation into the multiple scandals and lies that have come out of the Diocese of Buffalo.

Bishop Robert Malone is under investigation not only by Church officials in Rome, but reportedly also by federal and state law enforcement officials. His resignation – deserved though it may be – should not prevent the results of these investigations from being released to the public. And while we would prefer to see Bishop Malone disciplined by Catholic leaders for his deception instead of being allowed to quietly resign, we are most concerned about the other secrets and actors within the Diocese of Buffalo.

It is doubtful that the many scandals and cover-ups that Bishop Malone has been accused of were carried out by him alone. It is highly likely that there were other Church officials, under his direction, who assisted in covering-up the abuse of seminarians, hiding of clergy abuse files, and lying to parishioners and the public about the extent of clergy abuse in Buffalo.

It is critical that the Church is open and honest about what went wrong in Buffalo, who knew what, and what must be done to ensure these crimes and cover-ups never happen again. The investigation into the Diocese of Buffalo, as conducted by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, must be made public, and Catholic officials – whether led by Bishop Malone or someone else – should turn over files and records to federal investigators and New York Attorney General Letitia James for a full investigation. Anything less would simply continue the cover-up in Buffalo.