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On Wednesday, April 5, Brown released the redacted “Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore,” which represents the results of a four-year investigation into reports of sexual abuse and a subsequent coverup by Catholic Church officials.
The report includes a list of abusers, a history of child abuse in Maryland, a summary of the cover-up, recommendations, and other information collected by the Attorney General’s Office during their inquiry.
It found that some children and young people in select parishes were preyed upon by multiple abusers for years in some cases, and “the clergy used the power and authority of the ministry to exploit the trust of the children and families in their charge.”
Investigators said that the report “documents a long history of widespread abuse and systemic cover-up by clergy and others associated with the Church throughout the Archdiocese.”
“(It) also describes the repeated actions of those in positions of leadership to conceal and cover up the abuse, moving priests to other parishes, failing to investigate or report to civilian law enforcement authorities, and providing financial support to priests in retirement.”
The report further recommends that Maryland eliminate the statute of limitations for these crimes - which could soon be a possibility under new legislation - to allow victims to bring civil actions against their abusers.
“This report illustrates the depraved, systemic failure of the Archdiocese to protect the most vulnerable - the children it was charged to keep safe,” Brown said when he released the 456-page document.
“Based on hundreds of thousands of documents and untold stories from hundred of survivors, it provides, for the first time in the history of this state, a public accounting of more than 60 years of abuse and cover-up,” he continued. “Time and again, the Archdiocese chose to safeguard the institution and avoid scandal instead of protecting the children in its care.”
The complete redacted report on child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore from the AG's Office can be found here.
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