Maryland’s high prosecutor on Wednesday accused Catholic officers in Baltimore of partaking in a years-long coverup of sexual abuse of not less than 600 victims by greater than 150 individuals over many years.
Lawyer Common Anthony Brown chronicled the alleged abuse in a 463-page report that named a number of monks and described their alleged wrongdoing.
The report, which took 4 years to finish, illustrated “wicked, systemic failure of the Archdiocese to guard essentially the most weak – the kids it was charged to maintain secure,” AG Brown mentioned in assertion.
“Based mostly on tons of of hundreds of paperwork and untold tales from tons of of survivors, it offers, for the primary time within the historical past of this State, a public accounting of greater than 60 years of abuse and cover-up,” he added. “Repeatedly, the Archdiocese selected to safeguard the establishment and keep away from scandal as an alternative of defending the kids in its care.”
In a prolonged response by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, the church didn’t seem to disclaim any of the AG’s findings.
Lori referred to as the report a “unhappy and painful reminder of the great hurt triggered to harmless youngsters and younger individuals by some ministers of the Church.”
“The detailed accounts of abuse are stunning and soul searing,” Lori mentioned. “It’s tough for many to think about that such evil acts might have truly occurred. For victim-survivors all over the place, they know the laborious reality: These evil acts did happen.”
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