Former Altar Boys Allege Sex Abuse at Roman Catholic Church in Falmouth, Claim Former Bishop of Fall River Did Nothing to Stop It

MassLive
May 13, 2014

http://www.masslive.com/news/boston/index.ssf/2014/05/former_alter_boys_allege_sex_a.html

Two former altar boys at a Massachusetts Roman Catholic church have filed a lawsuit alleging they were sexually abused by a now deceased priest, while the former bishop of Fall River did nothing to stop it.

The suit was filed in Hartford, Connecticut in January but came to light Monday.

The complaint alleges that former Fall River Bishop Daniel Cronin did not properly supervise the late Monsignor Maurice Souza, accused in court documents of sexually abusing the boys, beginning when they were 9 and 10 years old in the 1970s, when Souza was at St. Anthony's in Falmouth.

The now-retired Cronin went on to become Archbishop of Hartford. Souza died in 1996.

A spokesman for the Fall River Diocese says the lawsuit is "old and is being dealt with."