BUFFALO, New York — A high-ranking U.S. cardinal in Boston says he is concerned about a bishop’s handling of alleged clergy abuse in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and wants the Vatican to step in.
A spokesman for the Boston archdiocese told WKBW-TV in Buffalo that Cardinal Sean O’Malley reviewed reports on Bishop Richard Malone, and he will send the documents to the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States.
“I have shared that information with Cardinal O’Malley who is deeply concerned by the absence of recognition of the abuse experienced by the survivors and the responses or absence of response provided to the survivors,” spokesman Terrence C. Donilon said in an email to 7 Eyewitness News.
O’Malley serves as head of the Vatican’s Commission for the Protection of Minors, which works on abuse prevention guidelines for the Church.
“It is the Cardinal’s assessment that the information in your reports should be reviewed by the Church authorities who have oversight and jurisdiction for the action or inaction of diocesan leadership in Buffalo with regard to the reports of abuse,” the email continued.
“For those reasons, Cardinal O’Malley will send the documentation of your reports to the Most Rev. Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, with note of the content and allegations in the reports,” Donilon said.
Malone is facing calls to resign after an investigation found he allowed multiple priests accused of misconduct to return to the ministry.
He previously acknowledged “past inadequacies” in his handling of complaints, but he says he will not resign.
The Buffalo television station aired a three-part series documenting church records that showed more than 100 priests in the diocese were accused of sexual abuse or misconduct, despite the fact Malone in March released a list of only 42 priests “who were removed from ministry, were retired, or left ministry after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor.”
Malone did not respond to a request for comment on O’Malley’s statements.
Crux staff contributed to this report.
