BOSTON (MA)
WGBH Radio - NPR affiliate [Boston MA]
October 20, 2026
By Nancy Eve Cohen | NEPM
Some survivors of child sexual abuse met with Attorney General Andrea Campbell Tuesday. This comes a few weeks after her office released an investigation into the Fall River, Springfield and Worcester Catholic dioceses, going back to the 1950s. It found 270 clergy abused nearly one thousand children.
Skip Shea, now 66, was one of those children. He was sexually assaulted, starting at age 11 by several priests in the Worcester Diocese. At the attorney general’s meeting, which was not open to the press, Shea said Campbell told survivors like him how grateful she is that they spoke with investigators.
“This was truly an incredibly powerful meeting because this wasn’t a political event or anything. This showed that she actually, really cares. And I was blown away by that,” he said.
Shea said Campbell indicated her office is continuing to push for new legislation that allows victims to seek justice, including proposals to end the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual abuse, eliminate the charitable immunity cap for cases of child sexual abuse and open up a window to allow survivors of past abuse to bring a lawsuit.
Another survivor from the Worcester Diocese, Cyndi MacKenzie, was not contacted by the AG’s office until after they finished their investigation. She wants them to publish updated numbers of survivors and the names of credibly accused priests, which the Worcester Diocese has not done.
“List the priest, list every parish that he was in and the years, for every single priest that ever had allegations against them. So that those people who haven’t yet dealt with their abuse can really feel empowered,” she said.
The attorney general’s office said in a statement that it regrets it did not have the opportunity to speak with McKenzie during its investigation, and the office has since talked with her.
Lynne Pottle survived four years of sexual abuse by her priest at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Worcester, starting in 1975, when she was twelve years old. She previously reported the abuse to the Diocese of Worcester and spoke to Bishop Robert McManus about it.
But Pottle said no one from the AG’s office has ever contacted her for its investigation, which started under now-Gov. Maura Healey, when she was the attorney general in 2019.
“I really want to speak with someone from the attorney general’s office. When I do, I want it to matter. I want it to mean something,” Pottle said.
Campbell has said her team will offer compassion and information to survivors who reach out to them. Her office’s investigation also offers links to several organizations that assist survivors of abuse.
“As our report makes clear,” the AG’s office said in a statement, “we may never be able to capture the full scope of abuse in these dioceses because of their longstanding failures to properly investigate allegations, maintain records, and protect children.”