Critics allege that the Diocese of Buffalo in New York has concealed the names of 25 priests of sexual assault. For some, a bishop’s request for the Church to “turn to God for forgiveness and mercy, and move on” adds insult to this newly revealed injury allegedly perpetrated by Buffalo priests.

This statement was made by Bishop Richard J. Malone, referring to the epidemic of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

The statement, along with the alleged concealment of the 25 names, has led some critics to call for Bishop Malone to step down from his post. Notably, one voice in this crowd is the president of Bonaventure University, Dr. Dennis DePerro.

The Daily Caller notes that DePerro said that the Catholic community is “not healing” from the alleged culture of sexual abuse and subsequent cover-up.

“We are not restoring trust. And we are not moving forward in a way that’s positive for our church,” argues DePerro.

Bishops Like Malone Face Criticism for Handling Of Sexual Assault

According to The Daily Caller, DePerro went on to say that “no organization in today’s world — including the Catholic Church — is exempt from accountability. I believe that a good leader would recognize that moment and step down.”

The Daily Caller says that Malone has apologized for what some may say is a failure in how he has approached the problem of sexual abuse in his diocese, but the bishop refuses to step down from his position, and says he will remain in his position until he retires in 2021.

Reportedly, other prominent groups in the country have also called for the removal of bishops, including Bishop Malone, in the wake of the Church’s response to claims of priest sex abuse. Francesco Cesareo, chair of the National Review Board, a lay group that advises American bishops on how to address allegations of sexual abuse, is a prominent figure who says the Church needs to do more.

These criticisms of bishops around the country reportedly began after a grand jury in Pennsylvania released a report that over 300 “predator priests” had been identified in Pennsylvania, and that the Catholic Church had enacted a systematic cover-up to protect these priests.

History of Sexual Abuse By Buffalo Priests, and Possible Cover-Ups

The problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is starting to come to light, but the scope may not yet be fully understood.

WKBW says that internal reports from the Buffalo Diocese says that at least 121 members of the clergy have already been accused of sexual abuse or misconduct, but the total number may be much larger. Allegedly, this difference in scope is no accident — critics argue that the Church has systematically covered up the problem of sexual abuse, going so far as to bury accusations and protect priests who have been credibly accused.

Sadly, the alleged “systematic cover up” of abuse may have not been contained to Buffalo, as many accused priests have worked around the country.

Allegedly, the identities and careers of numerous priests and other Catholic Church officials around the country has been hidden from the public for many years. So, the idea that the Diocese of Buffalo may be continuing to conceal the identities of 25 accused priests, and possibly more, may not come as a surprise to some

According to the Buffalo News, it wasn’t until November of last year that Bishop Malone and the rest of the Diocese of Buffalo revealed that the diocese had received complaints against 176 Buffalo priests. Even then, Bishop Malone still only identified 80 of these accused priests and provided no other information about the kind of accusation, the date the accusation had been brought forward, how many people had reported abuse, or when the abuse occurred.

Even before Bishop Malone’s time as Bishop of Buffalo, the information was not clear, which speaks to the degree to which what many call systemic abuse may have been concealed from the public.

Before Bishop Malone’s tenure, Monsignor Robert Cunningham reportedly served as the top administrator of the Buffalo Diocese before a new bishop was appointed. Monsignor Robert Cunningham is currently serving as the Bishop of Syracuse. The Buffalo News reports that Monsignor’s statements around the extent of alleged abuse in his diocese shifted over the years, raising concerns about whether or not the extent of abuse was truly being disclosed.

Allegedly, Monsignor Cunningham “downplayed the diocese’s sexual abuse problems” when asked in 1994, saying that there had been merely a “handful of complaints.”

However, this changed later on, according to the Buffalo News. Allegedly, in a 2002 statement by Monsignor Cunningham to the Buffalo News, “12 to 15 priests” had been accused of “sexual impropriety,” with either minors or adults, and reported that six priests and been removed from their posts for such alleged actions.

Then in 2004, Monsignor Cunningham allegedly revealed that 53 priests had been accused of sexual abusing minors, a number which reportedly was 2.6 percent of the 2,046 Buffalo clergy members who served between 1950 and 2002.

How Many Buffalo Priests Have Gone To Prison?

The number of how many Buffalo priests have gone to prison may not be known, because of the alleged systematic cover up of abuses. Though many victims say that their accusations went unacknowledged, even if a priest did face charges, this information may not be available, because it may have been covered up in an attempt to protect the individual priest or obscure the scope of the problem of abuse around the country and even the world.

The Buffalo News states that over 100 priests who worked in the Buffalo area have been publicly accused of sexual abuse. However, despite the growing reports of the priests that have been accused, many may never go to prison or face charges.

Buffalo News reporters say that this is because many of the abuse cases that are now coming to light happened many years ago. In some cases, the statute of limitations may have ended, so even if the accusations are credible, they cannot be taken to court. In other cases, the abuse may have happened so long ago that the accused priest may have passed away.

Sadly, many of cases of alleged abuse were perpetrated against children. So, by the time a person who was abused is ready to speak openly about the alleged assault, often times many years later in adulthood, the priest who allegedly committed the assault may very well have passed away.

Why Do People Not Report Abuse Earlier?

According to The New York Times, a founding member of the group Ending Clergy Abuse reports that many people do not report abuse for many years — and in most cases, they report well past the age of 38.  

In the case of Catholic Church sex abuse, victims may not feel that they will be heard if they do indeed report their abuse, so may very well feel discouraged from doing so. However, the wealth of stories coming to light of abuse may be encouraging victims to tell their own story, as there may be more support available than before.

However, some victims may still feel discouraged from coming forward. In his apology for how he has handled the problem of sexual abuse in the Buffalo Diocese, Bishop Malone said that the diocese has been “handling those matters differently now,” and said that “lessons have been learned.” However, many victims may wonder if this is truly the case.

Bishop Malone stated that the U.S. Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People indicated that no new allegations included an incident of child abuse after 2000, and that “there have been no substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse against any diocesan priest ordained in the past 30 years.”

However, he also said that allegations that the diocese covered up names of accused priests in the past were “simply not true,” and said that press accusations that he “refused to provide more  information to the public about the depth and scope of clergy sexual abuse of minors in the diocese” is “demonstrably false.”

Alleged Continued Cover-Ups Of Sexual Abuse ‘Epidemic’

So, for many, perhaps the news that the Diocese of Buffalo continues to conceal the names of 25 accused priests may come as no surprise, and may make victims wonder if their claims will be taken seriously or given the attention that they merit. Bishop Malone did reportedly say that the diocese is making great strides to increase transparency. However, if there were not transparency problems in the first place, this statement would perhaps not be necessary.

The Buffalo News noted that the Buffalo Diocese garnered criticism for eliminating the title of some accused priests from their bios after death. Though this was one of a number of actions taken by the diocese to respect victims, some critics say that this act only worsened what many fear is an intentional culture of silence around abuse accusations. Reportedly, some parishioners did not know that their community’s priest had been accused of sexual assault until after the priest’s death. 

Many may worry that these choices, in addition to the fact that at least 25 names of Buffalo priests accused of assault are reportedly still obscured from the public, indicate that the Buffalo Diocese, and perhaps the Catholic Church at large, are still invested in not revealing the extent of the possibly epidemic and continuing problem of Catholic Church sex abuse.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.