A report by the Massachusetts attorney general says 275 Catholic clerics sexually abused 944 children over roughly seven decades in three state dioceses. The investigation covers the dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester and dates back to the 1950s. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell's office said the findings provide the first comprehensive public account of abuse and alleged institutional cover-ups across the three dioceses.
Investigators said church leaders were aware of abuse but did not take effective steps to prevent further harm. Instead, the report said, officials acted in ways that protected the Church's public reputation. The investigation began in 2019. The report also warns that the records reviewed were not exhaustive, meaning the full scale of the abuse may never be known.
