HARTFORD, Conn. _ A scathing report released Tuesday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport on the alleged sexual abuse of hundreds of victims by clergy since the early 1950s blames former Bishops Edward Egan and Walter Curtis for violating state law and failing to respond to "an unfolding crisis."
Despite hundreds of victims, church leaders knew of abuse since 1953 and were more concerned about protecting assets and avoiding "scandalous news articles" than protecting children and removing priests, the report found. The report, compiled by former state Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg, stated that Egan took a "dismissive, uncaring, and at times threatening attitude toward survivors."
"Bishops Curtis and Egan failed even to acknowledge, let alone comply with, their legal obligations arising from the 1971 state law mandating that priests report allegations of child sexual abuse," the report states. Egan's behavior "was profoundly unsympathetic, inadequate, and inflammatory."
The report states that nearly 300 people were allegedly abused by approximately 71 priests. A small number of priests were responsible for much of the abuse. Holzberg said investigators have not identified any reports of abuse since 2008. Investigators interviewed more than 50 witnesses, survivors of clergy sexual abuse, current and former bishops, priests, lawyers and others.
"The abuse ranged from lewd behavior in front of victims to violent assaults," the report states. "It had many profound effects on the victims over and above the sexual abuse itself, including long-term mental health problems, fear of retaliation after the fact, and estrangement from their families and from their religious faith."
"Until the early 2000s, the collective response of diocesan officials to the sexual abuse crisis was inadequate in nearly every way, but the single gravest moral and legal lapse was the consistent practice of Bishops Lawrence Shehan, Walter Curtis, and Edward Egan _ over four decades _ of leaving abusive priests in service, and thereby making it possible for them to continue committing abusive acts."
Egan, who later was named a cardinal and became archbishop of New York, died in 2015. Curtis, who was the founder of Sacred Heart University, died in 1997.
The list of accused priests worked at parishes throughout Fairfield County, from Bridgeport to Greenwich.
Bishop Frank J. Caggiano told the press conference that the diocese has a "zero tolerance" for abuse. "We are committed to ensure that this grave crime and grave sin will never again happen in our midst," he said.
"The church has been changed perhaps for the rest of our lifetimes ... it is a wound that will take a very long time to fully heal," Caggiano said. "My heart goes out to all those who were harmed and victimized.
"I am deeply sorry for that betrayal."
The report says Egan failed to remove priests after allegations and sought to "preserve the patrimony or assets of the church" and avoid media coverage. "Bishop Egan failed to view clerical sexual abuse as what it is and was and is ... a legal crime. Instead he viewed it as a lapse of judgment."
Among the 71 priests identified as having allegedly abused minors sexually, 41 were determined to be "credibly accused of abusing minors." Another 10 were determined to be "not credibly accused" but who were the subject of settlement payments by the diocese. The church has paid $56 million in settlements in lawsuits brought by survivors, with most of the settlements linked to the "predatory conduct" of these 10 priests.
Another 19 priests were found to be not credibly accused because of a lack of evidence or to have pending cases before the diocesan review board.
"The priests who committed these ghastly acts engaged in criminal acts," Holzberg told a press conference in Bridgeport Tuesday. The majority of the abuse took place in the 1960s and 1970s. Many specific incidents of abuse were known to diocesan officials at the time they occurred, or became known while the priests were still living and active.
The victims, most of them male, were between the ages of 5 and 18, Holzberg said. Most of the abuse _ 271 incidents _ occurred when the diocese was led by Curtis.
"Bishop Curtis was undisguisedly indifferent to clergy sexual abuse in the diocese, not understanding or acknowledging its scope, and abdicating virtually all responsibility to his subordinates for responding to it," the report stated. "Bishop Curtis did not remove abusive priests from service, and even allowed many to be reassigned to new parishes. By not removing them, he made possible continued abuse of additional victims."
The report stated that "diocesan leadership" was aware of the abuse since as early as 1953.
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A total of "281 individuals have been identified as having been abused during the diocese's approximately 66-year history, nearly all when they were minors, by 71 priests. The 71 priests constitute 4.7% of the approximately 1,500 priests who have served the diocese since 1953."
In one example cited by the report, the Rev. Joseph Moore from the Our Lady of Assumption Parish in Westport, often took teenagers on camping and ski trips during the 1970s. Moore's abuse and the response of the diocese had "long-term impacts" on the victims.
"One survivor credibly alleges that he was repeatedly molested by Father Moore, whom he had considered a friend and confidant, in multiple episodes during youth group outings. He relates having had to hide from Father Moore in a friend's tent during one trip and in a closet during another, and being 'terrified' that Father Moore would find him," the report stated. "Father Moore threatened to kill me, and I believed him."
The report further states that "instead of being removed from service after the ski trip incident, Father Moore received a transfer, after a few months in an alcohol rehabilitation program, to another parish in the diocese."
The report also states "it is likely that there are more victims and clergy abusers than we have identified. Bishop Walter Curtis, acknowledged purging and destroying records concerning sexual abuse of minors. For the first forty years of the diocese, until the early 2000s, the record-keeping and archival system of the diocese was inadequate and antiquated, creating the possibility that even with our review of 250,000 paper and electronic records we have not identified all clergy sexual abusers and their victims."
The "abuse ranged from lewd behavior in front of victims to violent assaults. It had many profound effects on the victims over and above the sexual abuse itself, including long-term mental health problems, fear of retaliation after the fact, and estrangement from their families and from their religious faith."
"Until 1990, Bishops Curtis and Egan failed even to acknowledge, let alone comply with, their legal obligations arising from the 1971 state law mandating that priests report allegations of child sexual abuse to either law enforcement or the Department of Children and Families."
