QUINCY (MA)
WCVB - ABC 5 [Boston MA]
September 25, 2025
By Ted Wayman
Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, who already faces political challenges over his salary and religious statues, apologized after stirring up another new controversy this week with comments about the clergy sexual abuse scandal.
Koch, 62, who first became mayor in 2008, has since apologized.
He appeared on a WBZ News Radio program on Monday, where most of the conversation focused on the controversial plan to install bronze statues depicting Catholic saints Michael and Florian on the facade of the city’s new public safety building.
The plan precipitated a First Amendment legal battle in Norfolk Superior Court. The legal challenge case is being brought by a group of Quincy residents of various faiths who are seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions.
Legal fight erupts over saint statues at Quincy, Massachusetts, public safety building
The conversation pivoted to the clergy abuse scandal when host Dan Rea expressed his frustration that priests linked to the sexual abuse scandal were not defrocked by the Church.
“We could spend a segment on that sometime,” Koch said. “That bit was mostly homosexual issues and not pedophilia.”
“There is no evidence to support his assertion. He is just wrong,” said attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who represents thousands of survivors of abuse.
Koch also suggested that media outlets unfairly targeted the Catholic Church for coverage and said he believed the rate of child sexual abuse was higher in other fields, including “teachers and coaches and stuff.”
“The church was not very popular with the secular media. They took a beating,” said Koch.
“That’s a bold assertion,” Garabedian said. “I’d like to know what evidence he has for that opinion. I’d like to know what document he reviewed. I’d like to know who he spoke to.”
At a Quincy school board hearing on Wednesday night, Koch faced additional criticism from committee members.
“I’ve been asked, ‘Should he resign?’ No. He should get an education and come back and share it with us,” said Jim Petosa, of the Quincy LGBTQ Commission.
Back at City Hall on Thursday, Koch offered an apology, saying, “Those I did offend. I apologize.”
Koch told NewsCenter 5 that he takes child abuse seriously.
“I’m a father of three. If someone did that to my kids, I’d be in jail for murder,” the mayor said.
The Boston Archdiocese declined to provide a comment for this story. Garabedian plans to invite Koch to meet with clergy sex abuse victims to educate him on their experiences.
Controversial pay raise for Quincy mayor likely heading to the ballot
Meanwhile, Koch also faces another political controversy over his compensation.
Organizers collected thousands of signatures in an attempt to challenge a recent 79% pay raise for the mayor, which appears likely to reach the ballot. If allowed to stand, the pay raise would set his salary north of $280,000, which is greater than Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s salary ($207,000), New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s salary ($258,750) and most other major city mayors.