PORTLAND (ME)
News Center Maine [Portland, ME]
September 2, 2026
By Christian Harsa
More than a hundred people have settled their cases against the church, but survivors say the Portland Diocese has not done enough to protect future victims.
For decades, Annie Allen had to mentally and emotionally process the abuses she endured at the hands of her childhood priest. Earlier this year, she and a hundred other survivors reached a settlement, but they are still waiting for an apology.
Earlier this year, more than 100 survivors of abuse and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland reached a multimillion-dollar settlement. On Wednesday, more of those survivors spoke out about the abuses they endured and the reaction from the church, which they say lacks real safeguards to prevent further abuse.
Joined by her attorneys, activists and other survivors, Allen recounted what happened to her. “I’m here today to speak about the sexual abuse I suffered when I was seven years old at the hands of a priest,” she said.
Rev. Lawrence Sabatino, who served as a priest for 35 years and died in 1990, was trusted by Allen’s family, she says. He baptized, confirmed, and married members of her family.
“As a child, you should have been safe. Instead, that trust was grossly violated,” she said.
Documents from the Maine Attorney General’s office, sued to be made public by the Portland Press Herald in 2005, reveal that Sabatino assaulted a dozen other people over his years in the church.
Allen attended St. Peter’s Parish in Portland in the early 1960s, and that is where she says Sabatino would lead her away by hand and sexually abuse her in the church’s basement.
A few years prior, in Lewiston, Patricia Butkowski was also assaulted by Sabatino, a 2005 article by the Portland Press Herald recounts. Butkowski joined Allen on Wednesday to speak.
“The church, to me, has always felt that monetary value is all that was needed,” she said remotely over a video call. “They may have paid us, but they never apologized. They never accepted accountability for what happened to us.”
The church’s lack of what survivors and their attorneys call a real apology speaks volumes.
“An apology is very important because it says at least two things. This happened, and it shouldn’t have happened,” attorney Mike Bigos of Bigos Law said.
When NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to the Portland Diocese, the church deferred to a statement Bishop James Ruggieri sent to parishioners on July 30.
“Through negotiation with their attorneys and impartial mediation, the diocese has reached financial resolutions with many people affected by the Law Court decision. This is intended to acknowledge, in a tangible way, consistent with our resources and obligations, the seriousness of what has been reported and the lasting impact of abuse,” Ruggieri wrote.
He continued writing that the church will continue to investigate and review misconduct and offer counseling to anyone who comes forward.
“My heart goes out to anyone who has suffered abuse and for the pain and trauma endured,” he wrote, encouraging survivors to seek support. “I remain committed to listening, acting with integrity, and doing everything within our power to ensure that our parishes and ministries are safe. May God grant comfort to those who suffer and guide us in the work of rebuilding trust.”
“The Diocese of Portland, I believe, sees themselves as the real victims here,” Jessica Arbour, an attorney with Horowitz Law, who has worked on many cases across the country involving abuse charges from members of the Catholic Church, said.
NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to the Diocese asking if they would like to share a more direct apology. At the time of publishing, the church has not responded.
“As I sit here today, I do not believe that children in the Catholic churches of Maine are any safer than they were in 1958,” Arbour said.
The church says it has had its Protecting God’s Children program in place since 2002. On the Diocese’s website, it says it does background checks on employees, clergy and volunteers “on a regular basis, along with required motor vehicle checks where applicable.” The church claims to conduct 4,000-5,000 checks a year.
The program also includes training, education and “building a culture of awareness.”
Allen isn’t content with what the church is doing, calling for more rigorous background checks and accountability.
“I would like to see safeguards in place,” she said. “I would like to see criminal charges brought against priests because they committed crimes, crimes against children.”
The Diocese’s program offers counseling for survivors. However, Arbour and Bigos recommend people seek care and support outside the church.
Arbour says multiple clients of hers received counseling provided by the church but learned the Diocese required records of the counseling be shared.
“For those who experience that, I don’t consider that real counseling, because real counseling is principally and wholly therapeutic, not surveilled,” Arbour said.
The Diocese did not respond to questions about this practice.
Instead, Arbour suggests people call law enforcement if there is an abuse and contact the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault. MECASA offers a free and private 24/7 hotline at 1-800-871-7741.
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