WORCESTER (MA)
Boston Globe
September 30, 2026
By Matt Stout andAnjali Huynh
A state investigation found evidence that more than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children across the Catholic Dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester over the course of a century, the state attorney general’s office announced Wednesday.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell said the investigation, which began in 2019, identified instances in which diocesan leaders failed to act on allegations and warning signs or transferred accused priests to other parishes without disclosing the reasons for their transfers.
Campbell’s office said while previous probes had exposed institutional failures in the Archdiocese of Boston, the AG’s investigation is the “first comparable public accounting of the institutional failures within the Fall River, Springfield and Worcester dioceses.”
The attorney general did not bring charges against any of those mentioned, however, citing “significant barriers” from Massachusetts’ statute of limitations and other laws.
“This investigation was not about demonizing a faith or a church,” Campbell said at a news conference Wednesday, during which she also disclosed for the first time that she is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. “Rather, it was about seeking justice, a value and a promise our faith and the God I serve so deeply reflects.”
Church officials in all three dioceses for decades not only knew about the sexual abuse of children, but they did not take “effective action to prevent it or to examine the institutional failures of leadership” that led to children being victimized at the hands of priests.
The majority of “known abuse” occurred before 2002, when the Globe reported on decades of abuse within the Archdiocese of Boston — according to the attorney general’s report.
But officials said the investigation identified other failures “that persist,” including around training, investigation of allegations, supervision, and recordkeeping.
That includes instances where priests were allowed to remain for years after the dioceses received reports that the priests had sexually abused children, according to the report.
Alleged abuse has also continued well past 2002, said Campbell, who pointed to more recent reported accusations of abuse in Springfield.
And even when the dioceses suspended the accused priests, including forbidding them from publicly acting as priests, the men “generally remained largely unsupervised, and the suspensions, in many cases, occurred without parishioners or even fellow priests having any knowledge” of the allegations, according to the report.
Priests, Campbell said Wednesday, were “deeply trusted in their communities,” and “offending priests took advantage of that trust.” Some survivors told Campbell’s office that they believed their parents, too, would believe a priest over them. Many waited decades to disclose their abuse, she said.
“Too often they protected the reputation of the church, rather than protecting children,” Campbell said.
Raymond Delisle, a spokesperson for the Worcester Diocese, said the organization “welcomes” the attorney general’s report, noting that no charges were filed, that the “vast majority of cases occurred 40-60 years ago,” and that the diocese has passed a compliance audit each year since adopting a 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Minors.
“We will study the AG’s report to identify any additional improvements that can be made to respond to victims of past abuse and to continue to strengthen efforts to keep children safe,” Delisle said.
Despite the evidence, Campbell said her office cannot indict or prosecute the crimes it found, citing statutes of limitations and “other legal constraints.” In some cases, the alleged conduct was not a crime under state law at the time, Campbell said.
“We cannot apply a criminal law retroactively,” she said.
But, Campbell added, “We view this investigation as just the first.”
The attorney general, who noted that the state’s law “continues to create significant barriers,” endorsed a host of changes that would better allow survivors to “seek relief or accountability” going forward. Those included creating an “indefinite lookback period” for civil claims of childhood sexual abuse and removing the state’s charitable immunity cap of $20,000, which limits the damages nonprofits can be ordered to pay.
She also backed an amendment stalled on Beacon Hill that would eliminate the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse. The amendment, which was included in a primary care bill the House passed in July, was sponsored by state Representative John Lawn, a Watertown Democrat who has publicly spoken about being a survivor of child sexual abuse.
Lawn, who attended the attorney general’s news conference Wednesday, said the church has “always” previously opposed such changes. But he hopes the report will help spur action on Beacon Hill.
“This report shows what we already knew — that for far too long, these institutions and people have got away with harming children,” Lawn said. “Massachusetts, of all places, should be a leader in making sure that we protect children and hold those accountable who don’t.”
Officials said the dioceses cooperated with this investigation by providing records in response to grand jury subpoenas, and by answering questions. Campbell’s office said no substantive testimony was taken before the grand jury.
The first-term Democrat said three cases had been referred to local district attorney’s offices, including one in the Worcester District Attorney’s office, which Campbell said resulted in criminal charges.
The attorney general also urged the Worcester diocese, which she said does not publicly list “credibly accused” clergy members as other Massachusetts dioceses do, to create and “publicly maintain” a similar record. That, she said, would give them a “tremendous opportunity to do something that would bring about justice.”
The report named a fraction of the 270 clerics mentioned in the report. Those included, Campbell said, were “crystal clear” and allowed to be shared under the grand jury secrecy laws, which protect the confidentiality of grand jury proceedings.
But some advocates said they nonetheless want to see more of those accused of abuse specifically named.
“The secrecy that sparked this conflagration back in 2002 is still happening,” said Terence McKiernan, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, which maintains a public database of clerics accused of abuse.
“Surely, it’s the responsibility of the chief law enforcement officer of the state to make sure that those children are safe,” McKiernan added, “and naming names is the way you do that.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout. Anjali Huynh can be reached at anjali.huynh@globe.com.