An investigation by Maryland’s attorney general revealed that more than 150 Roman Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Baltimore had been charged with sexually and physically abusing more than 600 victims over the past 80 years.
Attorney General Brian Frosh named 115 priests who had either been charged with sexual abuse or who the archdiocese had publicly designated as having been “credibly accused” of abuse.
The archdiocese did not publicly identify the 43 other priests who had been accused of sexual abuse.
This information is based on an investigation that began in 2019 and produced a 463-page report that has not yet been made available to the public. Frosh requested that the report, which contains data obtained using grand jury subpoenas, be made public in a motion that was filed in Baltimore Circuit Court.
Frosh stated in the court document that it is essential to publicly expose the Church’s wrongdoings to hold individuals and organizations accountable and enhance the way sexual abuse claims are handled moving forward.
To contact prospective informants or victims, the team launched a phone and email hotline and combed through 80 years’ worth of documents. Through these channels, the attorney general’s office received more than 300 communications, and investigators reportedly spoke with hundreds of victims and witnesses.
“For decades, survivors reported sexual abuse perpetrated by Catholic priests and for decades the Church covered up the abuse rather than holding the abusers accountable and protecting its congregations,” the court filing stated. “The Archdiocese of Baltimore was no exception.”
The attorney general says that the archdiocese neglected to report sexual abuse charges, properly investigate such claims, remove abusers from their positions of authority, or limit their access to children and young adults.
“While the Archdiocese reported a large number of allegations to police, especially in later years, for decades it worked to ensure that the perpetrators would not face justice,” the court filing read.
Even though 600 victims were identified, the court document stated that there may be “hundreds more” because the majority of sexual assault instances go unreported. The impact was described as “immense” in the filing.
According to the court document, the victims included both boys and girls between the ages of preschool and young adults. According to the filing, priests who had themselves been charged or found guilty of sexual abuse occasionally received reports of abuse.
The complaint alleges, among other things, that the Baltimore Archdiocese hired a predatory priest to teach at a Catholic high school but failed to report subsequent sexual abuse, and that the archdiocese was aware of a priest’s allegations of sexual abuse for more than 30 years before informing the authorities.
In a letter to victims on Thursday, Baltimore’s Archbishop William Lori expressed regret. He said, “to the victim-survivors who were harmed by a minister of the Church and who were harmed by those who failed to protect them, who failed to respond to them with care and compassion and who failed to hold abusers accountable for their sinful and criminal behaviour.”