According to a long-awaited state report released on Wednesday, more than 150 Catholic priests and others connected to the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused over 600 children and often got away with it. The abuse happened over a period of 80 years, and church leaders were accused of covering it up for decades.
The report says bad things about the archdiocese, which covers most of Maryland and is the oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the United States.Multiple abusers lived and worked at many parishes, schools, and congregations at the same time. From 1964 to 2004, 11 abusers lived and worked at St. Mark Parish in Catonsville.One deacon acknowledged abusing more than 100 kids. Another priest was permitted to fabricate hepatitis treatment and use other justifications to avoid being accused of sexual assault.
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office released the findings of their yearslong investigation during Holy Week, considered the most sacred time of year in Christianity ahead of Easter Sunday, and said the number of victims is likely far higher. The report was redacted to protect confidential grand jury materials, meaning the identities of some accused clergy were removed.
The report stated that “the shocking extent of the abuse itself highlights the responsibility of the church hierarchy. The sheer quantity of abusers and victims, the depravity of the abusers’ behaviour, and the frequency with which known abusers were permitted to continue exploiting minors are astounding.”
In recent years, there have been a lot of similar discoveries that have shocked the Catholic Church. The release of the redacted conclusions is a big step forward in the ongoing legal battle to get them published, and it adds to the growing body of evidence from parishes across the country.
Baltimore Archbishop William Lori, in a statement posted online, apologised to the victims and said the report “details a reprehensible time in the history of this Archdiocese, a time that will not be covered up, ignored, or forgotten.”
“It is difficult for most to imagine that such evil acts could have actually occurred,” Lori said. “For victim survivors everywhere, they know the hard truth: These evil acts did occur.”
Source: Associated Press