FILE: A new report from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office found that Catholic priests sexually abused at least 944 children across three dioceses in Massachusetts. (Photo by Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Catholic priests sexually abused nearly 1,000 children at three dioceses in Massachusetts over several decades, a comprehensive report from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office concluded.
Massachusetts Attorney General Joy Campbell released the report Wednesday, nearly 25 years after the Massachusetts clergy sex abuse scandal came to light and sparked a wave of investigations that found similar patterns at dioceses worldwide.
New report on Massachusetts clergy sex abuse
Big picture view:
The report found that at least 275 Catholic clergy members abused at least 944 children at the Fall River, Springfield and Worcester dioceses.
The abuse happened over decades, with much of it occurring before the Boston Globe exposed that church higher-ups knew priests were abusing children but moved them from parish to parish instead of removing them. The Boston Globe series won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2003 and later became the subject of the 2015 Oscar-winning movie "Spotlight."
What they're saying:
"For decades, survivors of clergy sexual abuse, including those who are no longer alive, have carried the devastating consequences of abuse, while the institutions entrusted with their care too often failed to protect them," Campbell said in a prepared statement. "This report provides for the first time a public accounting of the unimaginable harms afflicted on children in the Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester dioceses.
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"While important reforms have been made, the report documents decades of failures by diocesan leaders to adequately respond to allegations of child sexual abuse and protect children from further harm. As a woman of deep faith, it is my prayer and profound hope that this report honors the courage and stories of survivors, and serves as a renewed catalyst for Massachusetts to finally do all that is necessary to ensure the safety of our children. No institution should ever put its own reputation and interest above the safety and wellbeing of its constituents, especially children."
Only one criminal charge
Dig deeper:
According to Reuters, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office started an investigation in 2019 to determine whether Catholic leaders in Fall River, Springfield and Worcester were criminally responsible for concealing sexual abuse.
That investigation led to three referrals to local district attorneys, but only one resulted in criminal charges. Some of the conduct was not illegal when it happened, officials said, and other offenses were protected by the statute of limitations.
The Source: This article includes information from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and The Associated Press.