Lawsuits Archdiocese

Boston Clergy Accused of Abusing Almost 800 People, Report Says

Priests in the Boston Archdiocese have been accused of sexually abusing almost 800 people over the past six decades, the Massachusetts attorney general said.

According to information given to Attorney General Thomas Reilly by the archdiocese, 789 people complained about sexual abuse by 250 priests and church workers since 1940. The report, released today, caps an 18-month investigation by Reilly's office.

The Boston Archdiocese, the U.S.'s fourth largest with about 2.1 million Roman Catholics, has been named in more than 500 lawsuits and has considered filing for bankruptcy. It was the criminal trial of a former Boston priest that sparked the church's nationwide sex-abuse scandal, prompting U.S. bishops to draft a new policy to remove abusive clergy from active ministry.

``This is not about the Catholic faith and the Catholic religion,'' Reilly said during a televised press conference. ``This is a massive inexcusable failure of leadership in the Archdiocese of Boston.''

Reilly's investigation didn't find evidence about recent ongoing sexual abuse by the church and didn't produce enough evidence to file criminal charges against archdiocese officials.

Archdiocese spokesman Reverend Christopher Coyne declined to comment. He said the diocese will release a statement later today.

Earlier this month, Pope John Paul II named Sean Patrick O'Malley archbishop of Boston, the third time the Vatican has named him to lead a diocese scarred by scandal.
The Roman Catholic Church's crisis emerged from the trial of former priest John Geoghan in January 2002. He was convicted of molesting a 10-year-old boy at a swimming pool and is serving a prison sentence of nine to 10 years, though he was accused of abuse by more than 130 people. Then Cardinal Bernard Law was accused of shuffling Geoghan to other parishes to hide the abuse.

Geoghan's conviction led to more lawsuits and allegations that the church chose to protect its priests instead of helping the victims. It also put Law and the archdiocese at the center of the scandal, as hundreds of lawsuits across the nation were filed. Allegations of sexual misconduct have been brought against at least 85 priests in the Boston area.

U.S. bishops drafted the new policy on abusive priests, and it was approved by the Vatican in December.

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