No Charges for Boston Church Officials

No criminal charges will be filed against any church officials in the Archdiocese of Boston for allowing sexually abusive priests to remain in parish work, a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office said Sunday.

Atty. Gen. Thomas Reilly’s report, based in part on an investigation by the state grand jury he convened, documents what happened in the archdiocese and suggests changes to prevent future abuse, according to WBZ-TV of Boston, which cited an unidentified source who has reviewed the document.

Reilly spokesman Corey Welford told Associated Press on Sunday that the attorney general would not immediately release the document, but Welford added that the television report was accurate.

“The attorney general has completed a comprehensive 16-month investigation of the Archdiocese of Boston, and the report will be released sometime this week,” he said.

Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer for more than 100 alleged abuse victims, said he had not seen the report but expressed disappointment there would be no criminal charges filed.

“Given the number of tragedies that have occurred by these sexual molestations and the allowance of these sexual molestations, many of my clients were hoping that there would be indictments so church leaders and individuals would be held responsible,” he said.

Gary Bergeron, 41, one of 54 men who say they were abused by the late Father Joseph Birmingham, said he never expected top church officials to be charged.

“I am not surprised there are no indictments because of the way the laws were written,” he said. “But it’s unfortunate that, for all intents and purposes, men who agreed to sanction the abuse of children throughout the years cannot be indicted.”

Father Christopher Coyne, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said he could not comment until the report was made public.