Maryland, United States: Over 150 Catholic priests and other persons associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused more than 600 children and escaped accountability, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office’s report. The report revealed that the scope of sexual abuse spans about 80 years and accused church leaders of covering it up for decades.
The 463-page report said, “The staggering pervasiveness of the abuse itself underscores the culpability of the Church hierarchy.” The report added, “The sheer number of abusers and victims, the depravity of the abusers’ conduct, and the frequency with which known abusers were given the opportunity to continue preying upon children are astonishing.”
The report reveals that some parishes, schools and congregations had more than one abuser at a time such as St Mark Parish, located in Catonsville, had 11 abusers living and working there between 1964 and 2004. The report revealed that often multiple people abused one young victim. Furthermore, one deacon admitted to molesting over 100 children. The report said that while over 600 children were found to be sexually abused by the 156 people named in the report, the number of victims is likely far higher.
“Time and again, members of the Church’s hierarchy resolutely refused to acknowledge allegations of child sexual abuse for as long as possible,” revealed the report. “When denial became impossible, Church leadership would remove abusers from the parish or school, sometimes with promises that they would have no further contact with children. Church documents reveal with disturbing clarity that the Archdiocese was more concerned with avoiding scandal and negative publicity than it was with protecting children.”
“This Report illustrates the depraved, systemic failure of the Archdiocese to protect the most vulnerable – the children it was charged to keep safe,” said Attorney General Brown.
He added, “Based on hundreds of thousands of documents and untold stories from hundreds of survivors, it provides, for the first time in the history of this State, a public accounting of more than 60 years of abuse and cover-up. Time and again, the Archdiocese chose to safeguard the institution and avoid scandal instead of protecting the children in its care. This Report shines a light on this overwhelming tragedy, and it was the courage of the survivors that made it possible.”
Baltimore Archbishop William Lori posted a statement online and apologised to the victims. He said that the report “details a reprehensible time in the history of this Archdiocese, a time that will not be covered up, ignored or forgotten.” The Archbishop added, “It is difficult for most to imagine that such evil acts could have actually occurred. For victim-survivors everywhere, they know the hard truth: These evil acts did occur.”
