Baltimore Catholic Archdiocese Covered Up Sexual Abuse Of More Than 600 Victims, Probe Finds

There is a new date of Nov 17, 2022, 05:11pmEST.

Clergy members and other church staff sexually abused more than 600 young victims over 80 years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, according to a court filing.

According to the AG's filing, the Archdiocese failed to report sexual abuse allegations, conduct its own investigations, remove people accused of abuse from the church or restrict their access to children.

The report identified 115 priests who have been prosecuted for sexual abuse or identified by the Archdiocese as having been "credibly accused" of abuse, as well as 43 priests accused of sexual abuse but not identified by the archdiocese.

According to the filing, the sexual abuse was so pervasive that victims would sometimes report it to priests who were perpetrators themselves.

There were 11 priests assigned to one congregation within the Archdiocese with a history of sexual abuse. The church was criticized by the Attorney General for not protecting its congregants from abuse.

Forbes inquired about the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

If the investigation leads to a settlement or if charges are brought against the archdiocese. The church remains committed to pastoral outreach to those who have been harmed as well as to protect children in the future according to the Washington Post.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore produced hundreds of thousands of pages of documents in response to a subpoena. More than 300 people have sent letters to the Attorney General since then. The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office launched an investigation into the late Cardinal William Keeler, who had served as Baltimore's Archbishop, in order to determine if he was involved in the church's coverup of sexual abuse allegations. They are the latest investigations into allegations of sexual abuse within the Catholic church, including an FBI probe in June into sexual abuse by priests at the New Orleans Archdiocese, who are accused of taking children across state lines to assault them. 20 years ago, the Boston Globe released a bombshell report detailing years of abuse and coverups within the Catholic Church, which led to a wave of sexual abuse allegations around the world. More than 4,000 priests were accused of sexual abuse in a report commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

More than 600 clergy sexual abuse victims have been found in Maryland.

Child sexual abuse in the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore is being investigated by the Maryland Attorney General.

Child sexual abuse of over 600 victims was covered up by the Baltimore archdiocese.