BALTIMORE (MD)
Baltimore Sun [Baltimore MD]
March 31, 2023
By Jean Hargadon Wehner
I want the Maryland Attorney General’s report on clergy sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Baltimore released to the public as was promised (”‘A public reckoning’: Baltimore judge orders release of redacted Catholic church abuse report,” Feb. 24). Rich Wolf, an investigator within the Maryland Attorney General’s Office who was involved in the four-year effort once told me last year that the report was being wrapped up and would be out by Thanksgiving, early December at the latest.
Here we are 4 and a half months later with no sign of when this report will be given over to the public and in what condition.
The institutions holding this release up are not deciding what is best for the survivors. They’re figuring out who’s named in the report that they need to protect from getting their feelings hurt, their names brought into this horrible mess, sued or otherwise held accountable.
This has gone way too long. Release the report for the good of survivors and their loved ones instead of spending more time protecting predators and those who covered up their destructive deeds! As a survivor, I found the nerve — from somewhere down deep — to put my name on this horrible mess. Stop hiding those who are named in this report, and let them find their nerve to deal and heal.
— Jean Hargadon Wehner, Elkridge