2023 Attorney General's Report

Archbishop William E. Lori said that in light of the Oct. 1 implementation of a new law in Maryland that removed any statute of limitations for civil suits involving child sexual abuse approaches, the archdiocese was weighing its options to respond to potential lawsuits.

Archbishop William E. Lori told Catholics that the Archdiocese of Baltimore is considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization as one option to deal with lawsuits expected to be filed when the Child Victims Act takes effect Oct. 1.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore June 30 updated its website listing of individuals accused of child sexual abuse.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is investigating a report of sexual abuse of a minor by a Josephite priest who served in East Baltimore in the 1970s.

Archbishop William E. Lori confirmed that no one who has been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor is currently in ministry in the archdiocese, and that he has confidence that all clergy and employees are committed to protecting children and enforcing the archdiocese’s child protection policies.

Murphy said there is a “simple” answer as to how the church found itself enmeshed in the abuse crisis. “It’s because church leadership put power, prestige and possessions above the lives of the children entrusted to their care,” she said.

“(I)t is accurate to say that the abuse that we discovered and uncovered pre-dates the current leadership in the Archdiocese and they are offenses that occurred in the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and through the ’80s, some maybe as recently as the ’90s,” Brown said.

Archbishop Lori said that as he read the report, “just as a pastor of souls and as a Catholic, I felt deep sadness. I felt shame. I felt sickened by the report, and I had to ask myself how could this have happened in the life of the church and how could it have gone on so long?”