Sun readers share reactions to Catholic Church abuse scandal

Archdiocese of Baltimore still colluding with abuse perpetrators

Lee Sanderlin’s and Cassidy Jensen’s excellent article uncovered the identities of five Archdiocesan officials whose names were redacted in the most recent version of the Attorney General’s report on child sex abuse by church clergy. (“Bishop, other high-ranking Baltimore Catholic officials identified as those who helped cover up sexual abuse,” May 6).

The information in the article provided me with some important pieces to the puzzle of my past. Getting this larger perspective strengthens my suspicions that all these officials knew what was happening, and some played key parts in this cover-up. Three such officials are Most Revs. Richard “Rick” Woy, G. Michael Schleupner and Auxiliary Bishop W. Francis Malooly.

I was introduced to Woy in August of 1992, when, as a representative of the Archdiocese, he was assigned to investigate my allegations of sexual abuse by Joseph Maskell and Neal Magnus. That relationship, which I believed to be pastoral as well as investigative, ended in 1993, with Woy advising me to “get a lawyer” rather than his agreeing to take time to pray with me.

So I retained a law firm, and they set up a P.O. Box for other alumni of Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore to anonymously disclose instances of abuse and other inappropriate actions by clergy. They were searching for the corroboration the Church said they could not find after supposedly months of investigation. But my lawyers found it quickly! One response to the post office address came from “Monsignor W. Francis Malooly.” He wanted to be advised of any information obtained so “appropriate action may be taken by the Archdiocese to protect individuals from potential harm.” After my experience with the archdiocese when I came forward with allegations about Maskell, I did not want any more to do with them.

Schleupner knew me from my days as a member of Emmanuel, a Catholic prayer group, in the 1980s. Schleupner was one of two priests who were a part of the group. I was very aware when I came forward to the Church in the early 1990s, that the priests who knew me and my practicing Catholic family were not reaching out on our behalf. In fact, my parents’ parish priest at the time, Father Paschal Morlino from Saint Benedict’s Church, was told to “stay out of it.” And he did. Were other priests told the same?

I believe now that when I came forward in 1992, Church officials knew that what I was saying about Joseph Maskell was true. From the beginning, it appears they purposefully placed the full burden of proof on my and my husband’s shoulders. They chose to protect the perpetrators over caring for me, the victim/ survivor. Their actions added years to my healing process.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is still colluding with the perpetrators by hiding the truth and blacking out their names — which is the equivalent of sneakily moving pedophile priests from parish to parish. If this corrupt organization is not held accountable in a court of law, those who have followed in these church officials’ footsteps will continue to get away with the practice of lies, deception, and secrecy.

I hold the Archdiocese of Baltimore responsible for the pain and suffering their actions caused me and my family.

— Jean Hargadon Wehner, Elkridge

The writer was among those abused as a student at Baltimore’s now shuttered Archbishop Keough High School in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. Her story was featured in the Netflix documentary “The Keepers.” Her memoir of surviving the abuse, “Walking with Aletheia,” was published in March.