Clergy abuse, clergy sex scandal, predator priest, pedophile priest… these are the most common phrases used to describe the abuse and cover-up crisis in Catholic circles. But have you noticed what problems they all have in common? None of these phrases mentions child sex crimes by non-ordained church employees. And there are far more of them than clerics in the US. They’re everywhere: in Catholic schools, parishes, hospitals, universities, social service agencies, and chancery offices. They are teachers, coaches, doctors, nurses, organists, secretaries, principals, choir directors, treasurers and administrators. Many of them have tons of access to kids. And many enjoy the considerable trust of their parents.
In fact, just last week, an Ohio Catholic teacher was indicted for sexually abusing a teenager: Emily Nutley of St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. And her crimes weren’t an aberration.
-In September, it was a Florida Catholic teacher, Christopher Chell, of Saint Patrick Interparish School in St. Augustine.
-In August, it was a Delaware Catholic teacher, Alanis Pinion, of St. Mary Magdalen School in Wilmington.
-In July, it was a Maryland Catholic teacher, Mark Planamente, of the Catholic High School of Baltimore.
-In June, it was a New Jersey Catholic teacher, Michael F. Wagner, of Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta.
-In May, it was another New Jersey Catholic teacher, Lief Schiroki, at Queen of Peace High School in Bergen County
-In April, it was a Michigan teacher, Nicholas Coe Young, of Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids.
-In March, it was a New York City teacher, Alexis Breeden, at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Academy in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn.
We could go on and on. As best we can tell, there have been no studies that suggest that Catholic lay people molest kids at a higher rate. That said, however, common sense suggests that if you’re an adult with sexual proclivities towards children, you may well be more inclined to seek jobs in an institution in which a high rate of child sex crimes and cover-ups happen are seemingly tolerated, are very often concealed and in which notions of forgiveness, mercy, and second chances are deeply ingrained.
Then, one must consider the numbers. Again, there are simply many more Catholic lay people than there are Catholic clerics. So, while public attention may seem disproportionately fixated on the crimes of the ordained, the crimes of the non-ordained – especially when there are millions – should also merit some attention.
For example, the Lake Charles Diocese in Louisiana has 1,592 employees. According to the diocesan website, these employees “work in the 39 church parishes, seven Catholic schools, at Christus/St. Patrick Hospital, and as administrative staff of the Diocese, including those in the Chancery, Bishop Harold Perry Building, Catholic Charities of Southwest Louisiana, Office of Catholic Schools, Stella Maris Seafarers Center, and Saint Charles Center.” There are just 46 priests, however, from Fr. Felix Alaribe to Fr. John Welch.
The Portland Diocese in Maine has 93 priests, from Fr. Michael Adebote to Fr. Thomas Andrews John Xavier. But it has 29 lay ministers, one Catholic college, one diocesan Catholic high school, one private Catholic high school, eight diocesan Catholic elementary schools, two Catholic hospitals, two Catholic daycare centers, one Catholic home for the aged, and two special centers for social services and assistance. Collectively, they employ hundreds of Catholics.
The Baltimore Archdiocese has nearly 200 priests, from Fr. Andy Aaron to Fr. Ronald Zoubek. On its website, though, the archdiocese claims that “over 8,000 men and women share in the work of the archdiocese, in the Catholic Center, 145 parishes, 68 schools, and other agencies.” A 2022 State of Maryland investigation concluded that at least 156 archdiocesan employees and clergy have or had credible accusations of sexually abusing more than 600 children.
Why does this matter? Because lay church staffers likely violated hundreds, or even thousands, of girls and boys. Who knows how many of those predators are still on the job in Catholic institutions or are still alive but ‘under the radar’ and working in other positions near unsuspecting kids and families? It also matters because recent legal reforms mean that ANYone who was molested on ANY Catholic payroll molested may now be able to seek justice, depending on the state in which the offenses took place. And if the word ‘clergy’ is used every time abuse in Catholic contexts is mentioned in the media, it’s likely that some who were hurt years ago could now benefit from the opportunities presented by these new, relaxed, or expanded child sex abuse laws.
These benefits have been spelled out in this blog repeatedly in recent years, but in short, they include the chance for
- some healing, justice, and closure
- some ability to warn parents and the public about predators
- some unearthing of facts about who knew or suspected abuse but did nothing or hid it
- some opportunity to deter other employers who might not be vigilant about preventing abuse or are not as prompt in responding when it happens
And we’ve also, in previous blogs, outlined some of the myths surrounding these new legal reforms. But no matter what possibilities the law may offer abuse survivors, those possibilities will be unrealized unless more and more abuse victims learn about their opportunities, opportunities they may have no matter whether they were hurt by a Catholic priest, nun, seminarian, brother, monk, bishop OR teacher, coach, doctor, nurse, organist, secretary, principal, choir director, and administrator.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by religious authority figures and other clergy. If you need a lawyer because a member of a religious organization sexually abused you, contact us today at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse nationwide. We can help.