NY Attorney General Sues Three Bishops

Church Militant ^ | 11/25/20 | William Mahoney

[marshmallow]

Seeks repayment in wake of cover-up

BUFFALO, N.Y. (ChurchMilitant.com) - New York's attorney general is suing the Buffalo diocese and three bishops for covering up allegations of clergy sex abuse and for using charitable funds to protect accused priests rather than making them face trial.

In a series of tweets posted on Monday, attorney general Letitia James publicized the lawsuit filed against the Buffalo diocese, former bishop Richard J. Malone and his former auxiliary Edward M. Grosz, and Bp. Edward B. Scharfenberger (in his current capacity as the diocesan apostolic administrator).

The suit comes at the conclusion of a two-year investigation into sex abuse of children and adults and a subsequent cover-up by priests in the diocese.

"I filed a lawsuit against the Catholic diocese of Buffalo and former senior leaders after we found they failed to follow mandated policies and procedures that would help to prevent the rampant sexual abuse of minors by priests within the Catholic Church," said Jones in the first of three tweets.

"The Buffalo diocese failed to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by priests," she continued. "Instead, they covered up credible claims and protected the accused priests by deeming them 'unassignable' or allowing them to retire or go on purported medical leave."

"While we will never be able to undo these horrific acts, we will do everything in our power to hold the Buffalo diocese and its leadership accountable and ensure this never happens again," concluded the attorney general.

Filed with the Supreme Court of New York, the 216-page lawsuit provides a detailed history of 25 priests accused of abuse in the diocese. Most were removed from active ministry but without a timely referral to the Vatican for trial and potential defrocking.