944 Children Abused by 270-Plus Clerics Across Three Massachusetts Dioceses
October 1, 2026 · Frisian News
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
A report from Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell found at least 275 Catholic clerics abused 944 children across the dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester over more than a century. Eight years of investigation produced no new indictments.
At least 275 Catholic clerics sexually abused 944 children across three Massachusetts dioceses over the course of a century, according to a report released by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell on September 30, 2026. The investigation covered the dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester. Campbell called it the first full public accounting of the abuse and of the institutional failures that allowed it to persist for more than half a century.
The eight-year investigation, launched in 2019 by then-Attorney General Maura Healey, reviewed more than 300,000 pages of documentation and interviewed more than 100 people, including survivors. The majority of the abuse occurred before 2002, the year the Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation exposed similar patterns at the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, setting off a global wave of inquiries.
The report found that diocesan leaders repeatedly chose institutional reputation over child safety. Church officials in all three dioceses knew about the abuse for decades yet did not take effective action to prevent it, according to the attorney general's report. Leaders transferred accused priests to other parishes without disclosing why, allowed them to return to ministry after treatment without adequate supervision, and failed to consistently report allegations to law enforcement. A "culture of reverence and indulgence" toward priests, the report found, gave offending clergy easy access to victims.
The dioceses also deliberately obscured the record. The attorney general's office found that all three often intentionally did not document child sexual abuse allegations or used coded and euphemistic language to conceal them. The Worcester Diocese remains the only Catholic diocese in Massachusetts without a public list of credibly accused clergy. Survivors' attorney Mitchell Garabedian told reporters he has lost six clients to suicide during his representation of abuse victims.
The investigation produced no new indictments. Campbell's office said some conduct was not a crime under Massachusetts law at the time it occurred, and in other cases the statute of limitations had expired. Three cases were referred to district attorneys during the probe; one resulted in criminal charges in Worcester County. Campbell said the legal limits do not diminish what the investigation found.
The three bishops offered varying responses. Fall River Bishop Edgar da Cunha said he was "filled with sorrow" and enumerated steps his diocese had taken, including publishing a list of credibly accused clergy going back more than 70 years. Springfield Bishop William Byrne called the report "humbling" and said his diocese had been "busy correcting our past failures." The Diocese of Worcester said it would study the report to identify improvements, pointing to an apology its bishop issued in 2022 and noting that the vast majority of cases occurred 40 to 60 years ago.
Campbell called on state legislators to act. State Senator Joan Lovely filed a bill in 2024 that would eliminate the statute of limitations for civil and criminal child sexual abuse cases, allowing survivors to seek damages regardless of when the abuse occurred. The bill has been stuck in the House for a year.
Nine hundred and forty-four children is a floor, not a ceiling. Campbell herself said the numbers are limited because records were missing, others were withheld, and many survivors never came forward.
FryskOp syn minst 275 katolike geastliken hawwe 944 bern seksueel misbrûkt yn trije bisdommen fan Massachusetts oer de rin fan in ieu, neffens in rapport dat útbrocht waard troch Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell op 30 septimber 2026. It ûndersyk omfette de bisdommen Fall River, Springfield en Worcester. Campbell neamde it de earste folsleine iepenbiere ferantwurding fan it misbrûk en fan de ynstitúsjonele mislearrings dy't it mear as in heale ieu trochgean lieten.
It ûndersyk fan acht jier, yn 2019 opstart troch de doe noch Attorney General Maura Healey, beseach mear as 300.000 siden dokumintaasje en ynterviewde mear as 100 minsken, ûnder wa oerlibbenden. It grutste part fan it misbrûk fûn plak foar 2002, it jier dat it Pulitzer Prize-winnende ûndersyk fan de Boston Globe ferlykbere patroanen by de Roomsk-Katolike Aartsbisdom fan Boston bleatlei, wat in wrâldwiide golf fan ûndersiken op gong brocht.
It rapport fûn dat lieders fan it bisdom hieltyd wer foar ynstitúsjoneel oansjen keazen yn plak fan de feilichheid fan bern. Tsjerkebestjoerders yn alle trije bisdommen wisten desennialang fan it misbrûk, mar namen gjin doeltreffende stappen om it te foarkommen, neffens it rapport fan de attorney general. Lieders fersetten beskuldige prysters nei oare parochy's sûnder útlis oer de reden, lieten se nei behanneling weromkomme yn it parochieel wurk sûnder genôch tafersjoch, en fersuimden om oanklachten konsekwint by de plysje te melden. In 'kultuer fan earbied en ynduljinsje' foar prysters, sa fûn it rapport, joech de skuldige geastliken maklik tagong ta slachtoffers.
De bisdommen ferbergen de dokumintaasje ek mei opset sin. It kantoar fan de attorney general fûn dat alle trije bisdommen faak mei opset sin oanklachten fan seksueel misbrûk fan bern net dokumintearren of kodeare en eufemistyske taal brûkten om se te ferbergjen. It Bisdom Worcester bliuwt it ienige katolike bisdom yn Massachusetts sûnder in iepenbiere list fan op betrouber grûn beskuldige geastliken. Advokaat fan oerlibbenden Mitchell Garabedian fertelde sjoernalisten dat hy seis kliïnten troch selsmoard ferlern hat tidens syn fertsjintwurdiging fan slachtoffers fan misbrûk.
It ûndersyk levere gjin nije oanklachten op. It kantoar fan Campbell sei dat guon gedrach op it momint dat it plakfûn gjin misdriuw wie neffens de wet fan Massachusetts, en dat yn oare gefallen de ferjiertermyn ferrûn wie. Trije saken waarden tidens it ûndersyk trochferwiisd nei distriktsadvokaten; ien late ta kriminele ferfolging yn Worcester County. Campbell sei dat de juridyske grinzen gjin ôfbreuk dogge oan wat it ûndersyk fûn.
De trije biskopen joegen ferskillende reaksjes. Fall River biskop Edgar da Cunha sei dat hy 'fol fertriet' wie en somde de stappen op dy't syn bisdom naam hie, ûnder oaren it publisearjen fan in list fan op betrouber grûn beskuldige geastliken dy't weromgiet oant mear as 70 jier lyn. Springfield biskop William Byrne neamde it rapport 'nedearjend' en sei dat syn bisdom 'drok dwaande west hie mei it korrigearjen fan ús eardere mislearrings.' It Bisdom Worcester sei dat it it rapport bestudearje soe om ferbetteringen te identifisearjen, wiisde op in ferskoaning dy't syn biskop yn 2022 dien hat, en merkte op dat de grutte mearderheid fan de gefallen 40 oant 60 jier lyn fûn plak.
Campbell rôp steatswetjouwers op om aksje te nimmen. Steatssinator Joan Lovely tsjinne yn 2024 in wetsfoarstel yn dat de ferjiertermyn foar boargerlike en kriminele saken fan seksueel misbrûk fan bern ôfskaffe soe, sadat oerlibbenden skeafergoeding freegje kinne ûnôfhinklik fan wannear it misbrûk plakfûn. It wetsfoarstel leit al in jier fêst yn it Hûs.
Njoggenhûndert fjouwer en fjirtich bern is in ûndergrins, gjin boppegrins. Campbell sei sels dat de sifers beheind binne omdat der dokuminten misten, oaren weromhâlden waarden, en in protte oerlibbenden har nea meld hawwe.
Published October 1, 2026 · Frisian News