Cover-up figures hold on to positions
High-ranking Catholic priests remain active in ministries and on boards in archdiocese, despite calls for them to step down
Several of the five high-ranking priests who worked to cover up and minimize child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have celebrated Mass in parishes over the past week and remain on the governing boards of Catholic institutions, despite having their identities revealed and a subsequent call by victims’ advocates for them to step away from serving in the community.
Monsignor Richard “Rick” Woy is head pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Crofton, Monsignor J. Bruce Jarboe is head pastor at St. Ann in Hagerstown and Monsignor G. Michael Schleupner regularly leads services at Our Lady of Grace in Parkton. All have celebrated Mass since The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday they were part of the hierarchy blamed in a Maryland Attorney
General’s Office investigation about how the archdiocese handled abuse cases over decades.
In addition to his role as a pastor, Woy — whose identity in the public version of the report is redacted as “Official B” and is mentioned at least 56 times — remains a member of the board of directors for Mercy Ridge, a Catholic-run senior living community in Timonium.
The facility is owned 50-50 between the archdiocese and Mercy Health Services Inc., the entity that owns Mercy Medical Center. Archbishop William Lori appoints four of the facility’s 10 board members and is able to remove his appointees at any time, according to a 2021 tax filing for the retirement home.
Woy resigned Friday from the board of directors at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson after
The Sun identified him. Hospital administrators have not given a reason for his resignation and have declined to answer questions about it.
Jarboe, identified as “Official A” in the report, is on the board of trustees for St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore (Lori is the board chair) and is an ex officio member of the St. Maria Goretti Catholic High School board of trustees in Hagerstown.
In an appointment announced in March, Jarboe will take the post of head pastor in July at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Towson.
Officials with the archdiocese declined Wednesday to answer questions about the men’s roles in active ministry going forward and about Jarboe and Woy’s status as board members at the Catholic institutions.
Schleupner celebrated Mass on Wednesday in Parkton; an archdiocesan spokesperson on hand declined to make him available
The Maryland State Board of Education, which oversees the education department, on Wednesday released its own account that contradicted the Accountability & Implementation Board’s version of events — stating it was the oversight authority that had declined to participate in the reviews with the department.
Ultimately, the memos describe an extra layer of tedium for bureaucrats, but they also hint at brewing tensions among top education leaders managing the state’s expensive landmark reform plan. The Blueprint aims to overhaul the state’s public schools with the help of billions in funding over the coming decade.
When the Maryland General Assembly voted the Blueprint into law in 2021, it also created the seven-person Accountability & Implementation Board to manage the plan’s rollout. The board was granted sweeping power to withhold funding from state or local entities — including the state education department — if the Blueprint’s standards are not met.
The state board of education critiqued that arrangement this week and said missteps were “inevitable given the policymaking/ oversight structure of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, with overlapping responsibilities.”
“This structure is not optimal for leading a transformation of this nature and sets up occasional disputes between the two agencies and potentially with the State Board,” the board said in its statement. “When missteps occur, they unnerve and confuse the broader educational community.”
The state board of education said it and the department remain committed to working with the Accountability & Implementation Board within the current statutory framework.
The accountability board and education department previously worked in tandem on projects, deadlines and communications with local leaders, many of whom have had questions about the complex piece of education reform and its five defining pillars.
The state’s 24 school systems were required to submit their plans for implementing the Blueprint reforms to the accountability board by March 15.
The following day Rachel Hise, that board’s executive director, said during a public meeting that its members and education department officials would “try to speak with one voice” in providing feedback on those plans.
As the power struggle plays out among top education leaders, some local school system officials declined to speak about the confusion, while others shared mixed reactions.
Baltimore City’s school system declined to comment on the matter.
Baltimore County school officials said the Blueprint rollout was proceeding as planned but declined to comment further.
And Harford County school system’s Katie Ridgeway said the process of implementing the Blueprint becomes more challenging to navigate when there are “two sets of expectations and interpretations.”
Leggett does not believe the diverging review process will amount to a major stumbling block but said he sent the communication to clear up any confusion for local leaders.
“We are striving to limit, if not eliminate, any potential for conflicting feedback between AIB and MSDE,”
Leggett’s memo states. “Please be advised that to the extent that a conflict exists, the law clearly states that AIB is responsible for approving Blueprint implementation plans.”
The memo goes on to promise that the Accountability & Implementation Board will not withhold funds from a school system that has not had its plan approved until May 2024.
The accountability board is scheduled to discuss the timeline for final decisions on the 2023 Blueprint implementation plans and the proposed appeal process at its next meeting May 11.