Clergy Sex Abuse Probes Grow: Maryland Launches Investigation

By Jonathan M. Pitts
Tribune News Service
September 26, 2018

http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/tns-clergy-sex-abuse-catholic-church-maryland-probe.html

Archbishop William E. Lori has told clergy members of the Archdiocese of Baltimore that state authorities are investigating the archdiocese's records related to the sexual abuse of children.

Lori told priests and deacons in a letter Monday that the office of the Attorney General Brian Frosh has informed the archdiocese that it plans to "conduct an investigation and thorough review" of the records.

"I write today to inform you that the archdiocese has been in discussions with the Maryland attorney general," the archbishop wrote.

A spokeswoman for the attorney general's office said Monday that, consistent with policy, it can neither confirm nor deny the existence of such an inquiry.

But the letter from Lori appeared to affirm that Maryland has become the latest of several states to open similar investigations in the wake of an explosive Aug. 14 Pennsylvania grand jury report that revealed that more than 300 "predator priests" in that state were credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children over seven decades.

The Pennsylvania report further concluded that for decades, church officials, including the leaders of archdioceses, covered up crimes such as the rapes of children.