The Epoch Times, by Zachary Stieber: Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children across three dioceses in Massachusetts, the state’s attorney general said in a report published on Sept. 30.
A years-long investigation found evidence that 275 clerics, including priests and nuns, abused children, and that 944 kids reported being sexually abused, according to the report released by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.
The probe examined allegations of child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester, and how the dioceses handled the allegations.
Investigators said the dioceses failed to respond adequately to child sex abuse allegations, including by failing to act on some allegations, transferring accused priests to other parishes without disclosing reasons for the transfers, and failing to consistently report allegations to law enforcement.
The alleged abuse largely took place before 2002, before The Boston Globe reported that priests at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston abused children, and that officials covered up the abuse. The dioceses under examination have improved policies since then. The Springfield Diocese has signed a policy that mandates reporting suspected abuse of children.
“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. 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,” Campbell said in a statement.
“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.”
Investigators examined more than 300,000 pages, including personnel files for accused clerics, and interviewed more than 100 people, including many who reported being abused.
The attorney general’s report states that the attorney general’s office cannot indict or prosecute the crimes it discovered because of legal constraints such as statutes of limitations. Three cases were referred to local district attorneys, and one resulted in criminal charges.
The Diocese of Worcester said in a statement that it welcomed the new report.
“The report validates our own report originally issued in 2004 and updated following the grand jury investigation, noting the number of allegations which have come forward, the time frame when reported, and when the abuse [is] to have occurred,” it states.
“Both reports point out that the vast majority of cases occurred 40—60 years ago. Our procedures over the past three decades, including the way we screen candidates for ordination, as well as the awareness and safety training which was implemented in all our parishes and ministries, have made an enormous difference.”
Edgar da Cunha, bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, said in a statement that the church failed victims of sexual abuse.
“As a Diocese we are firmly resolved to continue to do all we can to help you heal, to make certain we are accountable, and to protect our children so that no other child suffers as you have,” he said.
William Byrne, bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, told news outlets in a statement that the report “is a humbling reminder of the need for continued vigilance in properly handling all instances of child sexual abuse when reported to us.”
Prophetic Link:
“And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Revelation 18:2
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