In the wake of the opening of the one-year window in which Catholic sex abuse cases formerly prevented by the statute of limitations from going to litigation can now file, the Buffalo Diocese is faced with 221 lawsuits against it for clergy molestation.

According to an Aug. 14 CNN.com article, this window opened up on the date of the report, six months after the new Child Victims Act was passed into law in the State of New York. The law brought changes to an antiquated system that often left adult victims unable to seek redress for childhood harm.

As indicated by a Nov. 29 Buffalo News report, adult victims of molestation have come forward to accuse 107 priests, five nuns, six Catholic school educators or administrators, and a choir director. The number of total plaintiffs represented in the Catholic sex abuse cases total 237. The alleged perpetrators engaged in abuse of victims now reporting in seven counties located in Western New York State. Purportedly, 90 parishes and 11 Catholic high schools were where the abuse occurred.

One of the Catholic sex abuses cases involves plaintiff Richard W. who filed his lawsuit earlier in the month of November. Richard had become weary waiting for some acknowledgement from the Buffalo diocese that they had engaged in protecting and covering up the actions of Rev. James E. McCarthy.

At 57-years-old, Richard is eager to hold the church organization accountable. He claims he was molested by McCarthy when he was just ten years old and an altar boy.

McCarthy was a pastor of St. Stephen Church on Elk Street in 1973 when the abuse allegedly began, according to the report presented by the Buffalo News. The molestation continued for three years until Richard moved to Cheektowaga. He claims the violation was so traumatic that it led to him running away from home, being placed in a boy’s home, and experiencing a long delay in learning to read. To this day, he cannot enter a church for any reason.

Why is the Rate of Litigation So High for the Buffalo Diocese?

As indicated in a separate report posted by the Buffalo News on Sept. 18, 2019, the first month of the Child Victims Act window opening saw the filing of 138 lawsuits against this particular diocese—a number which raced ahead of the New York City archdiocese with 124 lawsuits and four times as many practicing Catholics.

Speculation as to why the rate is so much higher in this diocese centers around its inferior rate of settlement under a voluntary compensation program. The diocese rejected applicants to this program much more frequently and further disenfranchised a group of people already alienated by the Catholic Church, according to an attorney cited in one of the Buffalo News reports. This response of turning away victims seeking redress through the Church itself, he indicated, just drove them to find alternate means to being heard and acknowledged.

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