New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit on Nov. 23 against the Diocese of Buffalo and Bishop Richard J. Malone, who headed the diocese from 2012 to 2019, and newly retired Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz. The suit alleges a two-decades-long cover-up of how the diocese failed to deal with numerous priests accused of alleged sexual abuse, Catholic News Service reported. The goal of the 218-page lawsuit aims to establish an “independent review” of the diocese’s “response to alleged sexual abuse; require reporting to the attorney general for a period of five years; and mandate external oversight of “an appropriate remedial and compliance plan.” It seeks to ban Bishops Malone and Grosz from working in “future service in a secular role as a director or officer of any charitable organization” in New York. The suit also seeks damages and restitution. The investigation by the state started in September 2018. The lawsuit also names Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany in his capacity as apostolic administrator of Buffalo. Bishop Scharfenberger took over control of the diocese in December 2019 after Bishop Malone resigned. In February of this year, faced with over 250 lawsuits at the time alleging clergy sex abuse, the Diocese of Buffalo filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The lawsuits were the product of New York state’s Child Victims Act, which allows victims to seek action against their abusers until they are 55 and opened a one-year look-back window in August 2019 for people who were sexually abused to seek civil action against their alleged abusers. The Child Victims Act’s deadline for filing these look-back cases has been extended to Aug. 21.
