Following months of litigation that has played out under seal, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General on Tuesday released a new, less-redacted version of its 450-page report detailing decades of allegations of sexual abuse and cover-ups within the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The new version of the report is embedded below.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Robert K. Taylor Jr. last month ruled that redactions could be lifted for 43 of 46 names that were blacked out in the interim report, which came out on April 5. He authorized the attorney general to release a new version of the document as soon as Sept. 26.
“The court’s order enables my office to continue to lift the veil of secrecy over decades of horrifying abuse suffered by the survivors,” Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement at the time.
Though the new version of the report contains fewer redactions, the names of five church leaders and two alleged abusers remain blacked out. The attorney general’s office reported that the identities of certain people will remain hidden while they appeal the previous ruling.
Depending on what happens with those appeals, the attorney general’s office reported that it “may release a further version of the report at a later time.”
In a statement, Christian Kendzierski, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said it has offered its full cooperation and support with the investigation since the beginning.
At the same time, Kendzierski said, “we believed that those named in the report had a right to be heard as a fundamental matter of fairness.”
Kendzierski said “the mere inclusion of one’s name in a report such as this can wrongly and forever equate anyone named, no matter how innocuously, with those who committed the evilest acts.” He noted how the judge has stated that the fact that a person is named in the document is not a court finding that he or she engaged in improper conduct.
The church, he said, publishes credible allegations of sexual abuse and maintains a zero-tolerance policy.
“We recognize that the updated report is another reminder of a sad and deeply painful history tied to the tremendous harm caused to innocent children and young people by some ministers of the Church,” Kendzierski said. “We ask all to join us in praying for all victim-survivors of abuse and for all who have been affected by the scourge of child sexual abuse.”
The Baltimore Banner and The Baltimore Sun, in the meantime, identified the names of five church leaders and 10 alleged abusers whose names were redacted in the report:
- Monsignor J. Bruce Jarboe, Official A
- Monsignor Richard Woy, Official B
- Retired Bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington W. Francis Malooly, Official C
- Monsignor George B. Moeller, Official D
- Monsignor G. Michael Schleupner, Official E
- Frank T. Cimino Jr., No. 147
- The Rev. Joseph G. Fiorentino, No. 148
- Catherine A. Hasson, No. 149
- The Rev. Thomas Hudson, No. 150
- The Rev. John Peter Krzyzanski, No. 151
- The Rev. Samuel Lupico, No. 152
- Ronald Nicholls, No. 153
- The Rev. Joseph F. O’Brien, No. 154
- The Rev. Joseph O’Meara, No. 155
- Michael V. Scriber, No. 156
Survivors of clergy sexual abuse had publicly called for the remaining names in the report to be released.
Meanwhile, more people who experienced sexual abuse as children will be able to file lawsuits against institutions such as churches and schools as a result of a new law that takes effect on Sunday in Maryland. The Archdiocese of Baltimore has warned parishioners that could lead to “devastating financial consequences” — or even bankruptcy.
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