The rope is tightening. The New York state justice announced Tuesday an unprecedented legal agreement with the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo to put priests suspected of sexual abuse under surveillance, after decades of scandals and omertá of the American Church.
The Catholic Church in the United States is often shaken by revelations of sexual crimes committed by priests, especially against children. In December 2019, Pope Francis announced the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone, bishop of Buffalo, the second city in the state of New York, implicated for his handling of a pedophilia scandal.
Following investigations in all eight dioceses in the state and a November 2020 complaint by New York Attorney General (equivalent to local Attorney General) Letitia James, the Diocese of Buffalo and their priests, “credibly” suspected of sexual abuse or complicity, now they have to submit to the control of judicial and police officials.
control and responsibility
The audits will be supervised by a former executive of the federal police (FBI), Kathleen McChesney, a specialist in sexual scandals within the American Catholic Church, according to a press release from prosecutor James.
“The Diocese of Buffalo and its leaders have failed for too long in their primary mission of guiding and protecting our children,” he lashed out at the New York State Democrat-elect.
He lamented that “by choosing to defend the perpetrators of sexual abuse instead of the most fragile, the Diocese of Buffalo and its leaders have damaged the trust of the faithful and caused in many a crisis of belief.”
The Buffalo Catholic Church, which represents 600,000 parishioners, will now have to submit to the “control and accountability” of New York state justice, he wrote, noting that “no one is above the law and those who violate it in New York State will always be responsible.”
Buffalo’s two former bishops, Richard Malone and Edward Grosz, will never again be allowed to hold positions with religious or secular charities in New York.
In addition to the Diocese of Buffalo, whose crisis has been known since 2018, the former bishop of the state capital, Albany, Mr. Howard Hubbard, admitted under oath in court in 2021 to having been aware for 25 years, from 1977 in 2002, of sexual abuse of minors by their co-religionists. Without ever taking the proper measures. His testimony was not made public until last March.
Source: BFM TV
