BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell on Wednesday released a sweeping report that found more than 270 Catholic clerics abused nearly 1,000 children across the Catholic dioceses of Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester over the last century.
The 200-page report resulted from a years-long investigation launched in 2019, according to Campbell’s office. Investigators reviewed more than 300,000 pages of records and interviewed more than 100 people, including abuse survivors, advocates, clergy members, attorneys, diocesan officials, and church employees.
Diocesan leaders repeatedly failed to adequately respond to allegations of child sexual abuse and, in some cases, allowed accused priests to continue serving in ministry, according to the report.
Investigators found instances in which church officials failed to act on allegations or warning signs, transferred accused priests to other parishes without disclosing allegations against them, returned priests to ministry after treatment without sufficient supervision, failed to enforce restrictions on accused clergy, concealed reasons for removals from ministry, and did not consistently report allegations to law enforcement.
The report marks the first comprehensive public accounting of institutional failures within the Fall River, Springfield, and Worcester dioceses, following widespread scrutiny of clergy abuse and coverups in the Archdiocese of Boston that came to light more than two decades ago.
“For decades, survivors of clergy sexual abuse, including those who are no longer alive, have carried the devastating consequences of abuse, while the institutions entrusted with their care too often failed to protect them,” Campbell said. “While important reforms have been made, the report documents decades of failures by diocesan leaders to adequately respond to allegations of child sexual abuse and protect children from further harm.”
Campbell noted that the Catholic Church has implemented significant reforms since 2002, including creating child-protection offices, victim assistance programs, background checks, safe-environment training, and updated reporting procedures.
However, investigators concluded that policies were not always followed and that gaps remain in oversight, accountability, and transparency.
Among the report’s findings, the Worcester Diocese is identified as the only Catholic diocese in Massachusetts that does not maintain a publicly accessible list of clergy members who have been credibly accused of abuse.
The report calls on the dioceses to implement additional reforms, including prioritizing survivor-centered and trauma-informed responses, improving the reporting and investigation of abuse allegations, increasing transparency, and strengthening oversight of accused clergy.
Campbell is also urging state lawmakers to consider eliminating the $20,000 charitable immunity cap for civil child sexual abuse claims, removing the statute of limitations for such civil cases, and creating an indefinite lookback window that would allow survivors with expired claims to pursue legal action.
Investigators examined whether they could still bring criminal charges related to conduct uncovered during the probe. The report states that no new indictments resulted directly from the investigation, though it referred three cases to district attorneys. One referral led to criminal charges in Worcester District Court.
Campbell said many of the incidents occurred decades ago, before certain child protection laws were enacted, while other potential cases could not be prosecuted because statutes of limitations had expired or the accused individuals had died.
Campbell said the report is intended to provide a public accounting of what occurred and help ensure stronger protections for children in the future.
The full report and resources for survivors are available through the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Individuals seeking support can also contact a local Children’s Advocacy Center through the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance.
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