Church in the US makes deal with judiciary to investigate sex crimes

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The New York District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday released an unprecedented settlement with the diocese of the city of Buffalo, the second largest in the state. The decision will subject priests suspected of sexual abuse to judicial guardianship, breaking decades of silence from the American church over scandals.

In the United States, the Catholic Church has since 2019 been embittering the revelation of sexual crimes committed by religious authorities, especially against minors. Later that year, in December, Pope Francis announced the resignation of Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo over his involvement in managing a pedophilia scandal.

Investigations have taken place in the state’s eight Catholic dioceses, and New York Attorney General Letitia James — known for spearheading the case against Donald Trump’s family — demanded in 2020 the submission of priests suspected of sexual abuse to judicial control. The request was successful, and the agreement was concluded.

According to a statement from the prosecutor, the next step is to carry out audits, which will be overseen by Kathleen McChesney, a former deputy executive director of the FBI and an expert in sex scandals within the American Catholic Church.

“The diocese and its leaders have failed for far too long in their primary mission to guide and protect our children,” James said. The prosecutor also regretted that ecclesiastical authorities have chosen to “defend the perpetrators of sexual abuse instead of the most vulnerable” and “provoked a crisis of faith in many”.

With about 600,000 faithful, the Catholic Church of Buffalo will now have to submit to the “control and responsibility” of the New York state court, James emphasized, taking advantage of the occasion to snipe. “No one is above the law, and whoever violates it in the state of New York must always be held accountable.”

The agreement also establishes that the two former bishops of Buffalo, Richard Malone and Edward Grosz, are barred from holding positions in religious or secular charitable organizations in the state.

Buffalo, which saw the crisis knock on cathedral doors in 2018, is not the only American city where sex crimes have been reported. In the diocese of Albany, capital of the state of New York, former Bishop Howard Hubbard admitted to the Judiciary in 2021 that he knew, for 25 years – between 1977 and 2002 – of sexual abuse committed against children, without ever having taken action. in this regard.

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