WORCESTER (MA)
The Boston Globe [Boston, MA]
October 15, 2026
We shouldn’t need more reports on sexual abuse to push for more protections against it.
The Roman Catholic Church’s Second Vatican Council wrote that the church is “always in need of being purified.” After revelations from Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s new report on sexual abuse in the three Massachusetts dioceses, it is only clearer that the church must continue to reform.
The much-anticipated report from Campbell’s office found that 270 Catholic clergy in the Worcester, Fall River, and Springfield dioceses abused nearly 1,000 children over the past seven decades. The office reviewed 300,000 documents and conducted interviews with more than 100 people over the course of seven years.
The report did not cover the Boston archdiocese, the first to come under scrutiny due to the 2002 Globe Spotlight investigation, which led to sweeping efforts against sexual abuse by Catholic clergy nationwide.
Because of the statute of limitations on some crimes or because some of the alleged abuse wasn’t criminalized under state law when it occurred, the attorney general’s office is unable to prosecute any of the involved clerics (there is one exception, a priest prosecuted in Worcester County). Campbell writes that “it is essential to report our findings to the public and create a record of what occurred so that it does not occur again.”
The report also offers a roadmap for reforms — both for the Legislature and the dioceses.
Two significant legal steps that would help survivors in Massachusetts — and that the editorial board has previously called for — still have not been accomplished on Beacon Hill. First, removing the civil statute of limitations would let more victims sue for damages; and second, raising or eliminating the cap on charitable immunity would make them more likely to receive a significant judgment.
There is a chance these proposals could finally make headway this year. A bill that passed the House included provisions related to the statute of limitations.
As for the dioceses themselves, Campbell made a series of recommendations, some of which are underway but need further action. These recommendations include lists and supervision of credibly accused priests; timely and documented investigations of allegations; stronger whistleblower protections; and support for victims of sexual abuse.
Of those recommendations, publishing the list of credibly accused priests is the most important.
The Fall River and Springfield dioceses have already released names of credibly accused priests; Worcester is the lone remaining diocese in Massachusetts that has not done so. All of the survivors from the Worcester diocese that the AG’s office interviewed said this was their highest priority of reforms for the diocese to take.
In response, a spokesperson for the Worcester diocese pointed to a 2022 report from the diocese (updated earlier this year) that claimed the reason the diocese hasn’t published the list is to avoid “deep division” in the church among those who “see this as publicly branding as guilty those who never have been charged by law enforcement or had a chance to defend themselves in a court of law.” The report said that the diocese still will respond to victims.
But more than 90 percent of Catholic dioceses nationwide have managed to publish such a list, making Worcester very much an outlier.
As the AG’s office has pointed out, the reasons the accused have not been charged are legion. Putting a list forward creates transparency and protection for the community as well as prevents the priests from working in ministry or with children elsewhere, something the diocese should care about. And it sends a message that the church is no longer willing to cover up misconduct committed by clergy.
The church has had a chance for 25 years to show the world what true justice and mercy looks like, including care for the most vulnerable among us. Both the state and the church must continue to pursue both to the fullest extent.
Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us @GlobeOpinion.