Survivor advocates urge Catholics to seek ousters
Push for removal of Lori, newly named enablers after revelation of IDs of those who protected clergy sex abusers
In the wake of revelations about the identities of five Archdiocese of Baltimore officials who were among the hierarchy that protected clergy sex abusers, victims’ advocates are calling for ordinary Catholics to seek the ouster of Archbishop William Lori and the removal of the officials.
David Lorenz, director of the Maryland chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, and other abuse survivors on Monday intensified their past calls for Lori to resign and demanded that the newly named church leaders have their power to perform ministry revoked.
Lorenz said at a news conference that it’s unlikely Lori, now in his 11th year as leader of the area’s half-million Catholics,
would take such an action, or that the church would force it. But, he said, ordinary parishioners can “take charge of the situation” by pressing for new leadership in their parishes and in the archdiocese in general.
“Lori should resign; I think that’s clear,” he said during a 30-minute gathering in front of the archdiocese’s headquarters on Cathedral Street. “But the only way he’s going to resign is if the parishioners put pressure on him.”
A spokesman for the archdiocese did not respond Monday to requests for comment.
The Baltimore Sun reported the identities Thursday of the five officials who acted to shield abusive priests from accountability over the last three decades, according to a report completed by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office in November. The church paid for lawyers to fight to black out their names and a judge directed the attorney general’s office to redact them before releasing the report last month.
Four of the five men remain active in ministry in the archdiocese.
The Most. Rev. Richard “Rick” Woy, identified as “Official B” in the redacted report, is pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Crofton. State investigators found he helped enable the misconduct of the notorious Father A. Joseph Maskell, whose multiple instances of abuse were spotlighted in the 2017 Netflix docuseries “The Keepers.”
“Official A” is Msgr. Bruce Jarboe, pastor of St. Ann Roman Catholic Church in Hagerstown. “Official E,” Msgr. G. Michael Schleupner, is assigned to Our Lady of Grace in Parkton. “Official D,” the Most Rev. George B. Moeller, celebrates regular Masses for fellow residents at Mercy Ridge, a senior living community in Timonium.
The ex-official mentioned most
frequently in the report, Auxiliary Bishop W. Francis Malooly, became the bishop of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, in 2008 and served in that position through his retirement two years ago. He’s identified in the redacted document as “Official C.”
The activist group said Lori’s decision to allow the other four to continue serving in ministry in the archdiocese contradicts his claims that sexual abuse and cover-ups are things of the past in the archdiocese and it’s been transparent in its actions following the attorney general probe.
“The fact that he does not recognize the need to remove priests who have conspired to protect abusive priests and mislead victims [shows] that it’s time for Lori to be removed and not be granted a golden parachute,” Lorenz said.
“There are two parts to this,” added Frank Schindler, who decades ago survived repeated sexual abuse as a child in another diocese. “There are the perpetrators, the ones who actually violated ... but the other part is the cover-up. That’s the part that we have to address, that’s the systemic part of the Catholic Church’s policy, and that’s what has to change.
“That’s [one] reason why we feel Lori has to go. He has repeatedly said to his parishioners, to the city of Baltimore, to the state, that this is a thing of the past, that, ‘We’re moving forward’ at the exact same time that he refused to release the names of perpetrators and those who protect perpetrators.”
The public document provides the names of 156 priests, brothers, nuns and parochial school teachers the attorney general’s office says sexually abused and tortured more than 600 children in the archdiocese over an 80-year span. The names of 10 other abusers, all alive, are redacted.
The archdiocese has claimed the 15 redactions were not done at the request of the church. When it recently asserted that on its website, Attorney General Anthony
Brown pushed back. Brown issued a statement last month in which he said the church can “at any time” release the redacted names.
Lorenz said the archdiocese’s statements only bolster the argument that Lori should take further action immediately, up to and including tendering his resignation — and that the most effective way to accomplish such an end would be for everyday Catholics to apply pressure.
“I would ask parishioners to speak up,” he said. “This is your church. You have to know what’s going on. If you’re just going to church on Sunday, turning and walking back out to fulfill some kind of obligation
that will get you into heaven, you’re not being a responsible Catholic.”
Lorenz added that in his view, worshippers should think more carefully about the donations they make to the archdiocese.
“They should understand that a lot of their contributions went to pay for those lawyers who tried to keep those names redacted,” he said. “That’s where your money’s going.”
Another survivor, attorney Teresa Lancaster, encouraged victims who have never come forward about abuse to contact police or prosecutors.
“I want to assure the victims today that you are not alone,” she said. “Things have
changed ... You will receive support. And one of the most important things is that you will be validated and believed.”
Regarding Woy’s status at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pastoral council secretary Bob Logue said Monday that he wasn’t aware Woy had been identified as “Official B.”
“I have not seen that news,” Logue said. “Without knowing more, I would not be in a position to comment.”
Messages left for pastoral council members at the parishes of Jarboe and Schleupner were not returned.