Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell released a 203-page report on Wednesday about child sexual abuse in the Catholic dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester. It counts 275 accused clergy and 944 survivors over about 70 years. The report says those numbers aren't filtered for credibility and aren't an exact count. It finds church leaders knew about the abuse for decades and "actively sought to cover up the child sexual abuse to protect the reputation of the Church." Maura Healey opened the investigation in 2019, when she was attorney general. She's now governor. It produced no new indictments. Campbell says some of the conduct wasn't a crime at the time, time limits ran out on other cases, and many of the accused are dead. She's asking the Legislature to let more survivors sue.

1. The Abuse Is Finally on the Record, and Lawmakers Should Act

Campbell and survivor advocates say the state finally put the abuse on the public record. Next, they want the courts opened to survivors.

Nobody had laid all of this out in public before. Campbell says the report "provides something that did not previously exist": a full public accounting of the abuse and the failures that let it continue. She says the legal limits "do not change what the investigation found." At her press conference, she said for the first time that a relative abused her as a child. "This investigation was not about demonizing a faith or a church," she said.

Some survivors say the report finally backs them up. "It validates our stories," said Skip Shea, a survivor from Uxbridge. Shea got $10,000 from his diocese under a state law that caps damages against charities at $20,000.

She wants more survivors to be able to sue. Campbell asked lawmakers to end the time limit on child sex abuse lawsuits, revive claims that have already expired, and lift the $20,000 cap. Right now, survivors generally have to sue by age 53, unless they only later realize the abuse harmed them. State Representative John Lawn got a narrower version through the House on July 30. Lawn is a survivor himself. It would open a two-year window for old claims. The bill now sits with a House-Senate conference committee. The Senate's version leaves Lawn's provision out. "Massachusetts, of all places, should be a leader," Lawn said Wednesday. A spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka wouldn't say whether she supports it.

2. But Other Survivors Say It Isn't Enough Without Names

These survivors and watchdogs want the names the report leaves out. Some say it told them nothing new.

The report leaves out most of the names. It names only a fraction of the accused clergy. Campbell's office pointed to grand jury secrecy laws. "Why not release the names?" asked Cyndi MacKenzie, who says she was abused in Southbridge starting at age 4. "To me, they're still keeping secrets." Terence McKiernan is president of the watchdog group BishopAccountability.org. He says the state's top law enforcement officer has to keep children safe, and "naming names is the way you do that."

The wait was long, and some say the report told them nothing new. "There's nothing new there," said Jim Saviano, brother of the late survivor advocate Phil Saviano. He added that "no one" was "held accountable." David Lewcon, 72, talked to investigators in 2021. "The silence that we experienced from five years of waiting isn't neutral," he said.

3. Two Bishops Apologize, but Worcester Says the Abuse Is Decades Old

The Fall River and Springfield bishops say they're sorry and point to reforms. Worcester points to the lack of indictments and still won't publish names.

Two bishops apologized and didn't dispute the findings. "We as a Church failed you when you were most vulnerable," said Bishop Edgar da Cunha of Fall River. He says his diocese didn't object to the report's release. Bishop William Byrne of Springfield says his diocese has been "correcting our past failures." He wants the recommendations applied to "all groups, schools and youth organizations," not just the church.

There were no new indictments, and Worcester leads with that. "After an exhaustive investigation in which we were fully cooperative, there were no charges filed," the Diocese of Worcester said through spokesperson Ray Delisle. The attorney general's office says one of its referrals, to the Worcester County district attorney, did lead to criminal charges. The diocese says most of the cases happened 40 to 60 years ago.

There's still no public list of accused priests in Worcester. Worcester is the only diocese in Massachusetts without one. On Wednesday, Campbell called on the diocese to publish a list. The diocese has said many church members see a list as "publicly branding as guilty those who never have been charged by law enforcement or had a chance to defend themselves."

Where This Lands

Campbell and survivor advocates say the report puts the abuse on the public record for the first time. They want lawmakers to let survivors sue. Other survivors say a report with no indictments and few names isn't enough. The Fall River and Springfield bishops apologized and point to reforms. Worcester didn't apologize and still won't name its accused priests. Lawn's bill now sits with a House-Senate committee.

Sources