Maryland AG releases church sex abuse report into Archdiocese of Baltimore

BALTIMORE (MD)
WBAL-TV, NBC-11 [Baltimore MD]

April 5, 2023

Report lists 156 current or former Catholic clergy, seminarians, deacons, teachers at Catholic schools, others

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office report detailing the investigation into the Archdiocese of Baltimore reveals decades of child sexual abuse and leadership’s efforts to cover it up.

LISTReport lists abusers by name
LINKAttorney General’s Report: Child Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore

“Today, certainly in Maryland, is a day of reckoning and a day of accounting,” Attorney General Anthony Brown said at a news conference ahead of the report’s release. “This is a full accounting. There are details of repeated torturous, terrorizing, depraved abuse.”

Brown said more than 300 people contacted the attorney general’s office since its investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse and cover-up efforts began in 2018.

The attorney general’s office said it received hundreds of thousands of documents dating back to the 1940s that included treatment reports, personnel records, transfer reports and policies and procedures. Attorneys and investigators reviewed the documents and interviewed hundreds of survivors and their relatives or other witnesses.

“What was consistent throughout the stories was the absolute authority and power these abusive priests and the church leadership held over survivors, their families and their communities. The report seeks to document this long and sordid history,” Brown said.

The attorney general said many of those named are dead or the statute of limitations has passed.

“While it may be too late for the survivors to see criminal justice served, we hope that exposing the archdiocese’s transgressions to the fullest extent possible will bring some measure of accountability and perhaps encourage others to come forward,” Brown said.

Anyone who has yet to come forward who may be ready to do so now can report past abuse by members of the clergy by calling the attorney general at 410-576-6312 or e-mailing report@oag.state.md.us.

Why did a court have to approve the release of the report?

The attorney general’s office had to seek the court’s permission to release the report because much of the material was obtained through a grand jury. Then-Attorney General Brian Frosh sought the court’s permission in November 2022 to waive the grand jury privilege.

In February, a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge ruled that a redacted version of the report could be released after the AG contacted people who would be affected by the report’s release.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Robert Taylor Jr. on Tuesday authorized the release of the more than 400 pages of the redacted report as it was submitted by the attorney general’s office.

What’s in the report

The report lists 156 current or former Catholic clergy, seminarians, deacons, members of Catholic religious orders, teachers at Catholic schools, and other employees of the archdiocese known to the attorney general’s office to have been the subject of credible allegations of child sexual abuse committed in the Archdiocese of Baltimore or to have relocated to the archdiocese in the wake of child sexual abuse committed in other dioceses.

A Baltimore grand jury issued subpoenas to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, as well as to individual parishes, religious orders and St. Mary’s Seminary. The attorney general said some names were redacted in the report when the names were brought to the attorney general office via the grand jury process.

The report details abuse known to have been committed and the actions — and failures to act — of archdiocesan officials in response.

The report also identifies 43 other clergy who served in some capacity or resided within the archdiocese but who committed sexual abuse outside the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

The report recommends, as the General Assembly is on track to do this session with the Child Victims Act of 2023, that Maryland eliminate the statute of limitations that has prevented survivors from bringing civil actions against abusers and recovering damages for the harms they have suffered.

Archdiocese of Baltimore responds

Baltimore Archbishop William Lori released a statement upon the report’s release.

PDFRead the archbishop’s statement
LINKSArchbishop Lori’s Pastoral Letter in response | Archdiocese FAQs

In part, Lori wrote: “Today’s report from the Maryland attorney general is first and foremost a sad and painful reminder of the tremendous harm caused to innocent children and young people by some ministers of the church. The detailed accounts of abuse are shocking and soul searing.”

Lori acknowledged the abuse, offered an apologize on behalf of the archdiocese and pledged to support healing.

“The report details a reprehensible time in the history of this archdiocese, a time that will not be covered up, ignored or forgotten. Acknowledgment, I know, is of utmost importance. My immediate predecessors and I have offered unyielding public acknowledgment of the horrors of this era,” Lori wrote. “In 2002, the archdiocese publicly released the names of clergy members credibly accused of committing child sexual abuse, dating back to the 1930s. We continue to make public the names of abusers as we learn about them and as new accusations are reported.”

Lori said the archdiocese has changed since the peak of cases reported in the 1960s and 1970s, and that the archdiocese continues to make changes.

“Make no mistake, however, today’s strong record of protection and transparency does not excuse past failings that have led to the lasting spiritual, psychological and emotional harm victim-survivors have endured,” Lori wrote. “We continue to improve and build on the changes and accountability that define today’s archdiocese.”


RECENT TIMELINE

Maryland Attorney General’s

Church Sex Abuse Investigation

In the 1990s, the Archdiocese of Baltimore received complaints of sexual abuse involving some of its priests.
Our sister station, WCVB, reported the clergy sex abuse scandal exploded in Boston in 2002 after The Boston Globe revealed that dozens of priests had molested and raped children for decades, while church supervisors covered it up and shuffled abusive priests from parish to parish.
In 2018, a sweeping Pennsylvania grand jury report accused senior church officials of systematically covering up complaints involving more than 1,000 children who were molested by roughly 300 Roman Catholic priests since the 1940s
More victims in Baltimore came forward thereafter, leading the diocese to publish the names of dozens of clergy members accused of child sexual abuse dating back to the 1950s. The Maryland attorney general’s opened an investigation in 2018.
The following is a timeline of the events that followed.

June 1, 2017

The Netflix documentary series “The Keepers” reveals a long-standing and baffling cold case, focusing on a Baltimore County police investigation into the disappearance and killing of Sister Cathy Cesnik. – Story

June 2, 2017

“The Keepers” focuses on a killing and years of molestation at a Baltimore high school, and it has helped to bring more victims to light. – Story

June 6, 2017

The story of young women who say they were abused at Archbishop Keough High School in the late 1960s through the early 1970s is highlighted in “The Keepers.” – Watch: Victim speaks out to 11 News

Aug. 16, 2018

Baltimore sexual abuse victims hope release of grand jury report in Pennsylvania will lead to action in Maryland. – Story

Sept. 25, 2018

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh launches a review of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. – Story

Nov. 9, 2018

11 News I-Team Exclusive: Baltimore Archbishop William Lori addresses church sex abuse scandal: “We have to be held to the same high standard we hold our priests and lay employees and volunteers to. We should have the same standards and the same consequence.” – Watch

April 24, 2019

The archdiocese announces an additional 23 names of deceased priests and brothers previously and credibly accused of child sexual abuse to the diocese’s online list. – Story

Nov. 17, 2022

Frosh files a motion to release an investigative report of child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. – Story

Nov. 18, 2022

Court issues ruling, redacted report can be released after redacted copy is prepared.- Story

Feb. 24, 2023

Sexual abuse survivors call on report to be released, investigation expanded. – Story

March 15, 2023

Court receives redacted report for review. – Story

April 4, 2023

Judge authorizes report’s release. – Story

April 5, 2023

Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office released the report, which reveals decades of child sexual abuse and the archdiocese leadership’s efforts to cover it up. The report lists 156 current or former Catholic clergy, seminarians, deacons, teachers at Catholic schools, others. – Story

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