WORCESTER (MA)
The Republican - MassLive [Springfield MA]
October 1, 2026
By Adam Bass
When David Lewcon learned that the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office finished its investigation into the Worcester Diocese, he felt both relieved and doubtful.
In 2019, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into the Worcester, Springfield and Fall River Dioceses. Seven years later, on Wednesday, the office released its report, finding that over 200 members of the clergy abused over 1,000 children throughout the three dioceses over the span of a century.
Lewcon, 72, was one of those children, being abused by a Worcester Diocese priest at the St. Mary Church in Uxbridge during the 1970s.
The survivor told MassLive on Thursday he is thankful that the investigation has wrapped up after such a long time and said that action must be taken to hold abusers accountable.
Whether Lewcon thinks those actions will actually materialize is a different story.
“I’m doubtful that anything else is gonna happen anytime soon,” Lewcon said.
The probe ended with no new indictments, but Attorney General Andrea Campbell wrote the investigation led to three cases being referred to the state’s district attorneys. Only one case ended up with criminal charges being filed.
The Worcester District Attorney’s Office prosecuted a case in East Brookfield District Court, but the case was sealed after its resolution, according to Laura French, a spokesperson for the district attorney.
It’s unclear how the case resolved, and the sealed case means the underlying documents remain shielded from the public.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office investigation found that more than 200 children in the Worcester Diocese were abused by 90 members of the clergy since the diocese was established in 1950.
Those numbers, however, could be an undercount due to several factors, including underreporting by victims and the failure of the dioceses to keep accurate or organized records of abuse complaints. This assessment is also true of the Springfield and Fall River dioceses.
As part of the probe’s conclusion, Campbell is calling for the removal of the cap on torts against a charitable organization. The cap for such organizations, including the church, is $20,000 — rule unchanged since 1971 — according to the attorney general.
The removal of the cap is a move Lewcon supports and wants to see happen. Lewcon believes that the cap discourages lawyers from representing survivors.
“There’s no law firm out there that’s gonna defend a case for $20,000,” Lewcon said. “If they do (remove the cap), then it’s going to be a bloodbath for the church.”
Skip Shea, another survivor who was abused at St. Mary’s Church in the 1970s, also supports the removal of the cap.
Shea, 66, told MassLive that he was content with the investigation’s findings despite the seven-year wait. Like Lewcon, Shea believes the cap discourages lawyers from taking on cases involving abuse.
“If you use a charitable immunity cap, you lose a lawyer immediately,” Shea said. “Because most they can get is $20,000.”
Campbell also called for the elimination of the civil statute of limitations — another proposal Shea supports.
Under current Massachusetts law, childhood sexual abuse survivors generally must file civil lawsuits by age 53. If the statute were eliminated, it would allow survivors to sue abusers and institutions like the Catholic dioceses regardless of how much time has passed.
Shea also said he supports Campbell’s call for creating an indefinite look-back period to give survivors with expired civil claims the opportunity to seek justice.
He says it’s now up to the legislature to pass these laws.
The report also criticized the Worcester Diocese for lacking transparency and accountability.
Examples include failure to monitor accused priests, destroying documents related to a treatment center for priests accused of sexual misconduct and not publishing public lists of accused clergy, a practice that many other dioceses, including Springfield and Fall River, do.
A Worcester Diocese spokesperson told MassLive, “There is no other precedent for the publishing of lists of the accused in society — even of those accused in other positions of trust such as medicine, education or law enforcement.”
Shea said he finds the practice of not putting up a public list “infuriating.” He was also frustrated to hear that the church continued to provide wages and benefits to some priests who were accused of abuse, despite the diocese promising to take action.
“To me, they’re continuing the cover-up,” Shea said.
While Shea is looking for the legislature to act, Lewcon said that accountability needs to come from the church. He said the responsibility falls on the institution to make changes.
“There needs to be more accountability for the institution, and not necessarily the individuals that made the poor mistakes,” Lewcon said.
Lewcon also said there needs to be focus on adults who were also abused.
“No one talks about mentally disabled adults who are at harm’s way,” he said. “Where do they go from here?”
Adam Bass | abass@masslive.com