Katie Castellani
State House News Service
More than 270 Catholic clerics abused 944 children within the Catholic dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester over several decades, according to a report released by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who also revealed Wednesday that she is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.
"Behind every one of those numbers is a child whose safety was violated, a family that was changed forever, and a survivor who carried the trauma of that abuse for years and, in many cases, decades. They continue to carry this trauma even today," Campbell said during a press conference Wednesday. "This report provides something that did not previously exist: For the first time, a full public accounting of the abuse, the misconduct, and the institutional failures at these three dioceses that allowed that abuse to happen, and in some cases allowed it to continue for years."
The 203-page report details decades "of failures by diocesan leaders to adequately respond to allegations of child sexual abuse and protect children from further harm," Campbell said in a statement. This includes times when church leaders did not sufficiently respond to allegations and signals of abuse; the transferring of "accused and offending" priests to other parishes without sharing why they were transferred; allowing priests to return to ministry after treatment but without enough supervision; failing to enforce restrictions; hiding reasons priests were removed from ministry; and failing to consistently report allegations of abuse to law enforcement.
Representatives for the dioceses of Springfield and Fall River did not immediately respond to the News Service's inquiries on the report. Ray Delisle, chancellor and director of communications for the Worcester diocese, referred to a 2022 quote from Bishop Robert McManus in the diocese's own childhood sexual abuse report.
"As your bishop, I am profoundly sorry for the abuse of minors by priests within this diocese since its founding in March 1950. I continue in my commitment with the help of many collaborators to do everything we can to ensure such abuse does not happen again," McManus said in the quote Delisle provided.
Delisle also said the diocese welcomes the attorney general's report because there were no charges filed and any complaints since 2002 have been forwarded to the local district attorney's office. Also, Delisle said the report "validates" the diocese's own report, which he said showed a majority of cases occurred between 40 and 60 years ago. The report also backs up the diocese's implementation of a 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Minors, which Delisle said was adopted by dioceses across the country. Since then, the diocese has passed annual independent compliance audits, he said.
"We will study the AG’s report to identify any additional improvements that can be made to respond to victims of past abuse and to continue to strengthen efforts to keep children safe," he said in a statement.
During the press conference, Campbell also shared that she is "a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and it's the first time I've ever shared that publicly."
"And for me to stand up here, it would be absolutely one, inauthentic, and inauthentic to my faith, to not share that I am a survivor of childhood abuse, not at the hands of the church, but at the hands of a relative, and that frankly, my faith has allowed me to overcome that," she said. "And I feel really blessed to have a platform that I never take for granted that the people of this incredible state gave me to bring about the findings of this investigation. And most importantly, to offer additional compassion for survivors in this moment in time who may want to come forward."
- More to come -