SPRINGFIELD (MA)
The Republican
February 14, 2019
By Anne-Gerard Flynn
Fifteen reported cases of clergy sexual abuse were made to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in 2018, according to a two-page report in the latest issue of the diocesan magazine, The Catholic Mirror.
It is the highest number reported since 52 claims were made in 2004, according to the report on how the Springfield diocese handles allegations.
All new cases have been referred to the relevant district attorney, diocesan spokesperson Mark Dupont said.
The published data lists the number of abuse reports made by year back to 1986 and also lists the decades going back to 1930s when the incidents reportedly occurred, something Dupont stressed when asked to comment on the report.
The 1970s is shown as the decade with the highest number of occurrences with 80, followed by 74 in the 1960s and 33 in the 1980s.
Only eight incidents are listed as having happened in this century.
The published report, which can also be read on the diocesan website, notes that most occurrences were reported beginning in 1993 — the diocese set up an independent review board in 1994 — and later. (The list dates to 1986 because that was when the diocese, through Bishop Joseph Maguire, first began a more formal process of handling abuse reports, Dupont said.)
Some 43 are shown as having been reported in 2002 and 42 in 2003.
“First it is important to note the difference between when abuse reports are made and when the abuse actually occurred. In almost all cases the time spam goes back decades. This is part of the difficult path many victims follow in coming to terms with their abuse,” Dupont said.
“But regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred, we offer each victim full outreach and assistance. Included in this is the commitment to report all cases to the appropriate district attorneys’ offices which we have done.”
He added, “The spikes in reporting generally have to do with external factors, mostly major news coverage.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.