Sexual abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston

Boston Globe coverage In 2002, criminal charges were brought against five Catholic priests in the Boston, Massachusetts area (John Geoghan, John Hanlon, Paul Shanley, Robert V. Gale and Jesuit priest James Talbot) who were all convicted and sentenced to prison. The ongoing coverage of these cases by The Boston Globe brought the issue of "sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests" into the national spotlight. Cover-ups Grassroots public advocacy groups like Voice of the Faithful focused on Cardinal Bernard Francis Law after documents revealed his extensive role in covering up incidents of sexual misconduct of his priests. For example, Law moved Shanley and Geoghan from parish to parish within the diocese despite repeated allegations of molestation of children under the priests' care. Later, it was discovered that Shanley had addressed a 1978 conference that led to formation of the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). In 1984, Bishop John McCormack became secretary for ministerial personnel in the Archdiocese of Boston. In this role, McCormack was Law's point of interface for reviewing complaints against priests accused of sexual misconduct and removing some of them from active duty. He was later accused of taking too little action in handling Geoghan, a Boston priest who allegedly molested over 130 children during his ministry. He also wrote conciliatory letters to another priest accused of pedophilia and who once defended NAMBLA, then failed to notify the diocese to which that priest was later transferred of the accusations made against him. In January 2002, Law stated, "I promulgated a policy to deal with sexual abuse of minors by clergy. This went into effect on January 15, 1993", and asserted that the "policy has been effective." In one 2002 deposition, Law said that his practice under the policy was to seek the advice of mental health professionals before deciding whether a priest accused of sexually abusing a child should be returned to the pulpit. Impact on the diocese In 2002, the archdiocese agreed to pay $10 million to Geoghan's victims and in 2003, it paid an additional $85 million to 552 victims and parents who had filed civil lawsuits over the ignored abuse. In some cases, insurance companies balked at meeting the cost of large settlements, claiming the actions were deliberate and not covered by insurance. This caused additional financial damage to the archdiocese, which already faced the need to consolidate and close parishes due to changing attendance and giving patterns. Resignation of Cardinal Law On December 9, 2002, over 50 archdiocesan priests published a letter declaring no confidence in Law and asking him to resign. Law submitted his resignation to Pope John Paul II, who accepted it later that month. In a statement, Law said, "To all those who have suffered from my shortcomings and mistakes I both apologize and from them beg forgiveness." Handling by Bishop Lennon Bishop Richard Lennon's appointment as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, following the resignation of Law, brought criticism from some sex-abuse victims' groups. This criticism increased after Lennon's appearance in the Frontline documentary Hand of God. The movie documents the history of a Salem, Massachusetts sex scandal and its effects on the film maker's own family. Lennon closes the Salem parish despite the fact it is not losing money for the Church. Then, when the movie's filmmaker attempts to film the administrative building where his brother reported his own sexual abuse, Lennon exits the building, shoves the camera, and declares he will not "feel bad about this" after being told why the filmmaker wants to film the building's exterior. He does not respond to the invitation to dialogue that the filmmaker's presence on the property represents, and attempts to avoid discussion of the sex scandal by refusing to talk about anything other than the Church's private property rights (i.e. trespassing). He responds to the filmmaker's claim that he doesn't care by calling the filmmaker a "sad little man." Archbishop O'Malley Bishop Seán Patrick O'Malley was appointed archbishop of Boston in 2003, having already dealt with sexual abuse scandals in the Diocese of Palm Beach and Diocese of Fall River. In June 2004, the Archdiocese of Boston sold a large parcel of land near its headquarters to Boston College, in part to raise money for legal costs associated with the scandal. In August, 2011, O'Malley released a list of 159 priests with credible accusations of child sexual abuse. Sixty-nine names were omitted from the list because the priests were deceased, were not active ministers, had not been publicly accused, or were dismissed or left the priesthood prior to canonical proceedings. The archdiocese omitted 22 names because it could not substantiate the accusations against those priests. == Prominent cases ==

Reverend Joseph Birmingham The first complaints against Birmingham were recorded in 1964, four years after his ordination as a priest. Birmingham was assigned as an associate priest at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Two families complained to the archdiocese that Birmingham was abusing their boys. After Birmingham underwent a psychiatric evaluation, the archdiocese transferred him to St. James Parish in Salem, Massachusetts, where he was placed in charge of the altar boys. The archdiocese in 1985 appointed Birmingham as pastor of St. Ann Parish in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Two years later, in February 1987, a boy working in the St. Ann rectory told the archdiocese that Birmingham had sexually abused him. Birmingham offered to resign, but the archdiocese sent for treatment at the Institute of the Living, a mental health facility in Hartford, Connecticut. The institute sent the archdiocese a report on March 25 on Birmingham's progress. Birmingham died in 1989. By 2002, 40 men alleged that they were sexually abused by Birmingham. Cardinal Humberto Medeiros in 1981 received a letter alleging that Gale had sexually assaulted a boy in the boiler room of St. Jude. Bowing to more parent complaints about Gale, the archdiocese removed him from St. Jude and sent him away for treatment. After he finished treatment, the archdiocese again assigned Gale to a parish, this time the Infant Jesus Parish in Brookline. The pastor there reported that Gale was staying out at night and drinking heavily. The archdiocese was sued in April 2002 by another man who said that Gale tried to seduce him in 1979 when he was a boy. In August 2002, Gale was indicted on four counts of raping a minor. The assaults occurred between 1980 and 1984 at St. Jude in Waltham. The victim, who was a 10-year-old altar boy when the abuse started, said that Gale performed oral sex on him and forced him to perform the same on Gale. Gale pleaded guilty in November 2004 to four counts of child rape of the St. Jude victim. The Vatican laicized Gale in 2006. Reverend John Geoghan Geoghan was accused of sexual abuse involving more than 130 children. Charges were brought in Cambridge, Massachusetts alleging molestation that took place in 1991. Geoghan was laicized in 1998. In January 2002, Geoghan was found guilty of indecent assault and battery for grabbing the buttocks of a ten-year-old boy in a swimming pool at the Waltham Boys and Girls Club in 1991, and was sentenced to nine to ten years in prison. The trial included testimony by the victim. Dr. Edward Messner, a psychiatrist who treated Geoghan for his sexual fantasies about children from 1994 to 1996 also testified, as did Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes, who testified that he banned Geoghan from the swimming club after a complaint that he had been proselytizing and had engaged in prurient conversations. After initially agreeing to and then withdrawing a $30 million settlement with 86 of Geoghan's victims, the Boston archdiocese settled with them for $10 million, and is still negotiating with lawyers for other victims. The most recent settlement proposed is $65 million for 542 victims. The settlements are being offered in response to evidence that the archdiocese had transferred Geoghan from parish to parish despite warnings of his behavior. Evidence also arose that the archdiocese displayed a pattern of transferring other priests to new parishes when allegations of sexual abuse were made. Geoghan was charged in two other cases in Suffolk County. One case was dropped without prejudice when the victim decided not to testify. In the second case, two rape charges were dismissed by a judge after hotly contested arguments because the statute of limitations had expired. The Commonwealth's appeal of that ruling was active at the time of Geoghan's death, and remaining charges of indecent assault in that case were pending. In August 2003, while in protective custody at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Geoghan was killed by his cellmate, Joseph Druce. Reverend John Hanlon William Wood in 1992 accused Hanlon, pastor of St. Paul Parish in Hingham, Massachusetts, of raping him multiple times during 1980 and 1981. The attacks on Wood, then an altar boy, occurred at St. Mary Church in Plymouth, at a cottage Hanlon owned in Scituate and at his ski chalet in Dover, Vermont. As soon as the allegations were announced, the archdiocese put Hanlon on administrative leave. He was indicted in June 1992. In August 1992, the archdiocese learned of a second man who was accusing Hanlon of sexual abuse. However, the archdiocese, which was funding Hanlon's legal defense, did not notify authorities. The second man finally reported the crime to the police. In September 1993, prosecutors claimed that Hanlon raped Wood's two brothers when they were altar boys. In Hanlon's second trial, the two other Wood brothers were allowed to testify. He was convicted in March 1994 and given three life sentences in April 1994. Hanlon was ultimately accused of sexually abusing ten boys. Reverend Richard J. McCormick In 2002, McCormick, a Salesian Order priest, was teaching theology and literature at St. Petersburg Catholic High School in St. Petersburg, Florida. In March of that year, a female student complained to the school administration that McCormick had hugged and kissed her when they met in a hallway. McCormick and the school agreed that he should no longer serve there. The Salesians reached financial settlements in August 2009 with three men who has accused McCormick of sexual abuse during the 1970s. The attacks occurred when the victims were teenagers attending the Salesian Junior Seminary in Goshen, New York, where McCormick was the director. Two of the victims were fondled and kissed by McCormick and a third was sexually assaulted by a relative of McCormick's. The Salesians removed McCormick from public ministry and placed him in a Salesian residence. McCormick was indicted in August 2012 of raping a boy at a Salesian-run summer camp in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1981 and 1982. The victim, then age 11, said that McCormick would take him from the dormitory to his office at night, where the assault occurred. The victim was so terrified of McCormick that he would hide under a bed or under the fire escape. In March 2013, he was indicted on charges of raping an eight-year-old boy at the camp. In November 2014, McCormick was convicted of raping the first victim. He later pled guilty to raping the second boy. For both attacks, McCormick was sentenced to eight to ten years in prison. He died in prison of COVID-19 in 2020. Reverend Ronald Paquin In 1978, when Reverend Ronald Paquin was an associate pastor at St. Monica Parish in Methuen, Massachusetts, the church received its first report that he was molesting teenage boys. One of the victims, Robert Bartlett, complained to his pastor, who said he would take care of it. However, Paquin was not removed from St. Monica until December 1980. The archdiocese then assigned Paquin in April 1981 to St. John the Baptist Parish in Haverhill, Massachusetts. In November 1981, Paquin drove Jimmy Francis and three younger boys to a ski chalet in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. According to witnesses, Paquin and the boys drank liquor into the early morning and one boy slept with Paquin. Driving home the next day, Paquin fell asleep at the wheel and caused the vehicle to crash, killing Francis. Paquin was convicted at York County Court in Maine in November 2018 on 11 counts of sexual abuse. Paul Shanley According to Leon Podles in his book Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, "In late 1993, Shanley was sent to the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, for evaluation. The Boston archdiocese has refused to release this evaluation, but other released files show that Shanley admitted to nine sexual encounters, of which four involved boys, and that he was diagnosed as "narcissistic" and "histrionic." Shanley admitted that he was "attracted to adolescents" and on the basis of this confession, the Boston archdiocese secretly settled several lawsuits against Shanley. The archdiocese in 1993 had to admit to the Diocese of San Bernardino part of the truth about Shanley, and the bishop of San Bernardino immediately dismissed him." In February 2005, Shanley was found guilty of indecent assaults and the rape of a male minor and received a sentence of 12 to 15 years in prison. Shanley's case remains controversial to some because the allegations of abuse came only after the victim (now an adult) alleged that he recovered memories of the abuse from approximately 20 years earlier. The manner in which the accusations against Shanley arose and enormous attention in the media also have given rise to questions about the validity of the convictions. Shanley was released from Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater on July 28, 2017, after completing the required 12 years of his sentence. On October 28, 2020, Shanley died at the age of 89. James Talbot Reverend James Talbot, who taught and coached at Boston College High School, was among those charged. He had been removed from ministry in 1998 after allegations surfaced that he had molested a student at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine. In 2005, Talbot pleaded guilty to rape, assault with intent to rape, and three counts of assault and battery, related to two students he sexually abused during his time at Boston College High School and was handed a five- to seven-year prison sentence. He was released in 2011. On September 24, 2018, Talbot pled guilty to the sex abuse charges in Maine and immediately began serving a three-year prison sentence. Reverend Robert A. Ward In 1999, after completing a drug treatment program, the archdiocese assigned Reverend Robert A. Ward as pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in Whitman, Massachusetts. Two weeks later, while fixing Ward's computer, a technician discovered child pornography files. Ward admitted to the church hierarchy of previously downloading such images; Law removed him from Holy Ghost and banned him from any contact with children. The archdiocese did not report Ward to law enforcement. The sexual abuse review board for the archdiocese ruled that possessing child pornography was a "victimless crime" and in 2001 Law assigned Ward to the archdiocesan development office. In February 2002, a man accused Ward of sexually molesting him in 1970 when he was an altar boy at Presentation Parish in Boston. Investigation showed that the archdiocese knew that Ward was using cocaine least as early as 1995. Ward was suspended from public ministry by the archdiocese that same month and was laicized by the Vatican in 2005. ==References==