Sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

[5] Subsequent investigations and allegations revealed a pattern of sexual abuse and cover-ups in a number of large dioceses across the United States.

[6] Ultimately, it became clear that priests and lay members of religious orders in the Catholic Church had sexually abused minors on a scale such that the accusations reached into the thousands over several decades.

Although the majority of cases were reported to have occurred in the United States, victims have come forward in other nations such as Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Its in-depth reporting was the central subject of Tom McCarthy's film Spotlight in 2015, which won two Academy Awards including Best Picture.

[7] 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.

[2][3][8] [a] 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.

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.

Law's actions and inactions prompted public scrutiny of all members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the steps they had taken in response to past and current allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of priests.

Law's public statements and depositions during the abuse crisis claimed that he and the archdiocese did not initially have the expertise to understand pedophilia and ephebophilia and relied upon doctors' recommendations.

"[15] 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.

[18] 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.

Bishop Richard Lennon's appointment as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, following the resignation of Law, brought criticism from some sex-abuse victims' groups.

Bishop Seán Patrick O'Malley was appointed archbishop of Boston in 2003, having already dealt with sexual abuse scandals in the Dioceses of Palm Beach and Fall River.

In June 2004, the archdiocese sold a large parcel of land near its headquarters to Boston College, in part to raise money for legal costs associated with the scandal.

[22] 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.

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.

During the early 1970s, while serving on the pastoral staff of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Boston, a complaint was received about him sexually abusing a boy.

[25] Cardinal Humberto Medeiros in 1981 received a letter alleging that Gale had sexually assaulted a boy in the boiler room of St.

Evidence also arose that the archdiocese displayed a pattern of transferring other priests to new parishes when allegations of sexual abuse were made.

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.

[citation needed] On August 23, 2003, while in protective custody at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts, Geoghan was strangled and stomped to death in his cell by Joseph Druce, a self-described white supremacist serving a sentence of life without possibility of parole for killing a man who allegedly made a sexual advance after picking up Druce while he was hitchhiking.

There have been questions raised about the advisability of placing these two men on the same unit, as prison officials had been warned by another inmate that Druce was planning to assault Geoghan.

[31] William Wood in 1992 accused Reverend John Hanlon, pastor of St. Paul Parish in Hingham, Massachusetts, of raping him multiple times during 1980 and 1981.

[43] 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.

[4] In January 2003, Paquin pleaded guilty in Salem Superior Court in Massachusetts to raping an altar boy from Haverhill and was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

[47] 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.

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.

[57] On September 24, 2018, Talbot pled guilty to the sex abuse charges in Maine and immediately began serving a three-year prison sentence.

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 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.