Dec. 2, 2022
Dear Friends in Christ:
I greet you today to again address a matter related to the painful and troubling subject of child sexual abuse.
As you may know, much is being said about whether the Archdiocese is, or is not, opposing the release of the Maryland Attorney General’s report on the Archdiocese’s historical handling of child sexual abuse allegations. Please know that the Archdiocese does not and will not oppose the report’s release.
We stated this fact last week, when we also pledged to support the rights of some people who are mentioned in the report but not accused of abuse—and were not given the ability to respond to the Attorney General during the investigation. Now they deserve to be heard by the court, and we will pay their legal fees to ensure they are heard. I find it necessary to clarify this fact, which we openly stated after Attorney General Frosh publicly released his motion requesting permission from the court to release his office’s report. This does not mean the Archdiocese will in any way seek to keep the report from being made public, as some have suggested.
We have worked hard these past decades to ensure that the Church of today learns from the Church of the past. I believe many of you can attest to this firsthand. You see it in your own good parish priests and lay people and the efforts the Church has undertaken to keep children & young people safe. You’ve likely been screened before going on a field trip with your child’s Catholic school, been trained to spot and report signs of abuse or seen posters in your parish with the number to call if you or someone you know suspects abuse.
While the Attorney General’s report will likely be a painful reminder of a time in the life of the Church when it failed to protect children and failed to act as it should when learning about allegations of abuse, I know, and I hope you know, that that is not the Church of today.
No discussion of such matters can overlook the fact that we arrived at this point after grave harm was caused by representatives of the Church and it takes time to rebuild and earn trust. Our sincere hope is that this process will provide a measure of closure and healing for victim-survivors, to whom we owe our continued support and apology. To others, I pray you can find security and solace in the Church of today.
This is a difficult time for the faithful and, most importantly, for the victim-survivors. Please join me in praying for the suffering to end, for the restoration of hope and for the ever-strengthened path toward peace and healing.
May God bless us, and keep us always in His love.
Faithfully in Christ,
Most Reverend William E. Lori Archbishop of Baltimore