A public accounting of the systemic sexual abuse of children within the local Catholic Church is imminent, with a judge ordering the Maryland attorney general’s office to release its report on the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Robert Taylor determined that the “need for disclosure outweighs the need for secrecy,” and directed the office of Attorney General Anthony Brown on Friday to prepare a heavily redacted version of its report for public release sometime in March.
“Keeping this report from the public is an injustice,” Taylor wrote in his ruling.
He also noted the report’s speedy release is important because the General Assembly, which is in session until April 10, is considering legislation related to child sexual abuse lawsuits.
The product of a four-year investigation, the report details the rape and torture of more than 600 children and young adults at the hands of clergy in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore going back eight decades, as well as the church’s efforts to protect and enable abusers and to silence victims.
Continue reading at the Baltimore Sun