BALTIMORE — More than 600 people were sexually abused over the past 80 years at the hands of Catholic priests assigned to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and the church actively helped to cover up many of the abuses, a report from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office found.
While the report found more than 600 victims, there are “almost certainly” hundreds more, according to a motion filed Thursday in Baltimore Circuit Court by attorneys in the office of Attorney General Brian Frosh.
Both boys and girls were abused, with ages ranging from preschoolers to young adults, according to the motion, which described a report by the attorney general’s office that’s the result of a four-year investigation.
At least 158 Catholic priests were identified as having been accused of sexual abuse, including 43 priests who the archdiocese never publicly identified, the motion said.
While abuse took place throughout the archdiocese’s nine Maryland counties and Baltimore City, the attorney general’s office found parish members and students at some institutions suffered to a greater degree. For instance, a parish sometimes had more than one sexually abusive priest stationed there at a time. At least one parish, which was not named, was assigned 11 sexually abusive priests in a 40-year period.
“The sexual abuse was so pervasive that victims were sometimes reporting sexual abuse to priests who were perpetrators themselves,” the motion said.
The investigation found the archdiocese failed to report many allegations of sexual abuse, conduct adequate investigations, remove abusers from their posts and restrict their access to children. Instead, the attorney general’s office found, the archdiocese “went to great lengths in order to keep the abuse secret,” according to the motion.
“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,” Frosh said. “The Archdiocese of Baltimore was no exception.”
The report itself is not yet publicly available because it relies largely on material obtained using a grand jury. Maryland law requires all grand jury records be kept secret. The motion filed by Frosh’s office asks a circuit court judge to waive grand jury privilege and allow the attorney general to release the report publicly, according to the motion obtained by The Baltimore Sun.
The archdiocese will have the chance to respond to Frosh’s motion, and has the option to ask the judge not to release the report.
Asked Monday if the church would oppose a request to make the report public, a spokesperson for the archdiocese told The Sun in an email: “The Archdiocese will continue to cooperate with any legal processes relating to the attorney general’s investigation.”
The archdiocese turned over hundreds of thousands of records as part of the attorney general’s investigation into allegations of sexual abuse.
The church, also in a statement Monday, apologized for instances of past abuse.
“The Archdiocese recognizes that the release of a report on child sexual abuse over many decades would undoubtedly be a source of renewed pain for survivors of abuse and their loved ones, as well as for the faithful of the Archdiocese,” church spokesperson Christian Kendzierski wrote.
“We again offer our profound apologies to all who were harmed by a minister of the church and assure them of our heartfelt prayers for their continued healing. The Archdiocese remains committed to pastoral outreach to those who have been harmed as well as to protect children in the present and future.”
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(Baltimore Sun reporter Emily Opilo contributed to this report.)
