The investigation also identified more than 600 victims of sexual abuse, according to a new court filing.
The report itself, along with the names of the priests, is not yet public. The Attorney General’s Office disclosed some details in a court filing Thursday requesting permission to release documents that the Archdiocese provided in response to a grand jury subpoena...
...“The Attorney General’s investigation uncovered pervasive sexual abuse amongst the priesthood and repeated failures by the Archdiocese to protect the children of Baltimore,” the office wrote. “Time and again, the Archdiocese chose the abuser over the abused, the powerful over the weak, and the adult over the child. Hundreds of Marylanders have suffered mentally and physically for decades because of the Archdiocese’s decisions.
“Now is the time for reckoning,” the filing continues. “Publicly airing the transgressions of the Church is critical to holding people and institutions accountable and improving the way sexual abuse allegations are handled going forward.”
The filing describes pervasive sexual abuse and a church that tried to cover up the problem. One congregation was assigned 11 sexually abusive priests over a span of 40 years, the document claims. Victims sometimes ended up reporting sexual abuse to members of the clergy who were themselves perpetrators...
...“We need to see the names of the perpetrators.” he said. “We need to hear the stories of the survivors. … That’s the only way, sometimes, you come forward. You say ‘I’m not the only one.'”
This story will be updated...
https://wtop.com/baltimore/2022/11/maryland-probe-finds-158-abusive-priests-over-600-victims/ In the court filing, Frosh argues that “More importantly, it is vital to protecting children and the entire community,” the filing said. In other news: Prosecutors, legislators criticize 'gap' in school sex laws – Baltimore Sun "We have the problem of folks who are in a position of authority that are hard to define," he said.
ReplyDeleteMe thinks that this pervades our society:
ReplyDelete"Victims sometimes ended up reporting sexual abuse to members of the clergy who were themselves perpetrators..."
To be or not to be, that is the question:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/11/18/survivors-of-sexual-abuse-by-priests-applaud-frosh-court-filing-seeking-to-release-report-on-coverup/
Steve VanGrack, a Montgomery County attorney who has represented many survivors of sexual abuse, said Frosh’s report could help the public come to grips with the “magnitude” of the sex abuse scandal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/sex-offense-law-in-maryland-has-loophole/2012/06/16/gJQAWdoohV_story.htm
Steven VanGrack, Spear’s attorney, said prosecutors “are certainly correct to say that the case was dropped due to a technicality, and nobody likes a loophole.
"A 'Christian' is a man who feels
ReplyDeleteRepentance on a Sunday
For what he has done on Saturday,
And is going to do on Monday."
—Life Magazine
"Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse, including 43 that were never publicly identified. . ."
ReplyDeleteI wonder just how many lay persons, accused of sexual abuse, were never publicly identified?
https://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/11/18/survivors-of-sexual-abuse-by-priests-applaud-frosh-court-filing-seeking-to-release-report-on-coverup/
ReplyDelete“ . . . Time and again, the "blank" chose the abuser over the abused, the powerful over the weak, and the adult over the child.”
Where "blank" stands for "Free State"
Delete"A 456-page report from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office identifies . . . , as part of a four-year investigation into the history of child sexual abuse by members of the clergy."
ReplyDeleteImpressive seminal work, but who is footing the huge bill?
That's your big issue? That should be on the taxpayers/citizens/voters for allowing Maryland to be a sexual predator friendly state. This is what Maryland residents wanted, they got it.
DeleteOur legislature is a rare selection
DeleteLike an assortment of jokers wild
As soon as they win an election
Rush into the woodwork to hide.
Our esteemed elected politicians
Double up as skillful statisticians
Speaking in eloquent generalities
To sugarcoat the stark realities.
They had seven years of college
But, have no mental knowledge
They invent legal technicalities
To suppress the harsh realities.
The morally corrupt members
Place protocol over principles
Juggling the perennial loopholes
While grooming for loftier roles.
The electorate is a microcosm of the whole state population.
DeleteQuestion: What is its social redeeming value if it is kept secret?
Delete"Lawyers representing anonymous clients filed paperwork Monday to keep those proceedings around the release of the report — and potentially the entire report — secret."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/11/22/baltimore-archdiocese-sexual-abuse-report-proceedings/
Between the Archdiocese and the Lawyers we have a Zero-Sum Game and an exercise in futility.
Deletehttps://www.marylandmatters.org/2022/11/18/survivors-of-sexual-abuse-by-priests-applaud-frosh-court-filing-seeking-to-release-report-on-coverup/
“ Time and again, the Archdiocese chose the abuser over the abused, the powerful over the weak, and the adult over the child.”