A new allegation of abuse has rocked the Catholic Church in the United States: According to a state investigation released Thursday (local time), the archdiocese is Baltimore more than 600 people have been abused since 1940. The victims are said to be children and young people who were no more than 18 at the time of the crime. 158 priests have been “credibly” accused.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh accused the church of never prosecuting dozens of suspects. Many have already died. The figures come from a 35-page letter Frosh gave to a court Baltimore introduced. In it, he requests permission to publish the full report on church abuse in Maryland. His authority worked for years on the evaluation of over 450 pages. Now is the time to be responsible.
The representatives of the victims and the archbishop react
Court approval is required because the report contains a large amount of sensitive data. It is not clear when and how the competent court will decide on the prosecutor’s request. “For decades, survivors have alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests,” US media say, citing Frosh’s documents. “And instead of holding those responsible to account, the church has rather covered up the crimes for decades.” The archdiocese Baltimore be “no exceptions”.
Representatives of the victims were shocked by the prosecutor’s figures. They are “disturbing,” a spokesman said. Baltimore Archbishop William Lori wrote a letter to the faithful and apologized to those affected by the abuse. He feels “shame, deep remorse and compassion” for all those who have been harmed spiritually and physically by church officials. A spokesman for the archdiocese also noted that it has “fully cooperated” with the prosecutor’s office and has made more than 100,000 documents available to investigators since 2019. (CNA)
