NOTE (Thursday, October 3, 2019): This story has been updated to include comments from Monsignor Robert Weiss, senior pastor of St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church.

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More than 70 former or deceased Diocese of Bridgeport clergy members are accused of sexual abuse, and three previous bishops are being harshly criticized for ignoring accusations and enabling accused clergy members to continue patterns of abuse after being transferred, according to a retired state judge who led an independent investigation into the handling of abuse claims.

This latest news in the ongoing saga of sexual abuse in Catholic institutions worldwide, focusing on the diocese covering Newtown, was released October 1 in a report developed by retired Connecticut Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg.

The report also noted a significant decrease in reports of abuse over the past decade and efforts by the two most recent leaders of the diocese to provide improved support and more sensitive handling of abuse allegations coming from its members.

Judge Holzberg, who is now a partner at Pullman & Comley in Bridgeport, led a team of attorneys and investigators to analyze more than 250,000 papers and electronic records. He released his findings Tuesday during an hourlong press conference with the Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport.

Of the 71 priests named in “A Report on the Investigation Into the History of Clergy Sexual Abuse of Minors in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport and the Diocese’s Response to that Abuse, 1953 to the Present,” five served for brief periods at St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Newtown.

While the report recognizes 281 victims, it also acknowledges that it is “likely that there are more victims and clergy abusers than we have identified.” The report suggests it is likely some Newtown parishioners were among those abused by diocese priests.

Monsignor Robert Weiss, the current senior pastor of St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic church, was not the leader of Newtown’s Catholic church when any individuals named in the report were serving there.

Msgr Weiss, who came to Newtown from Shelton prior to his being elevated to that senior church designation, began his service at St Rose on July 1, 1999. He succeeded the Rev Msgr George D. Birge, who had been pastor of St Rose of Lima Parish since 1986.

The Accused Named

Those named in the report are Stanley Koziol, who served at St Rose from 1962-65; Mark Grimes, who served at St Rose, and also St Patrick’s in Bridgeport, in 1966; William Donovan (1982-83); Charles W. Stubbs (1997); and John Castaldo (July 1998-June 11, 1999).

Four of the men — Castaldo, Donovan, Koziol, and Stubbs — were “credibly accused,” according to the report. Grimes was not, the report states.

The Holzberg report states Koziol was accused by two victims, including one who reported repeated abuse during the three years of his tenure in Newtown. Koziol was removed from the ministry in 2002. He died in February 2013.

Donovan, according to the Holzberg report, is accused of abusing eight victims between 1967 and 1993. He was removed from the ministry in 2002, retired without faculties in 2003, and died in 2018.

According to bishop-accountability.org, the Church deemed the multiple allegations against Donovan credible enough to include his victims “as part of massive settlement in [October 2003] where Diocese paid $21 million to 40 people alleging abuse by priests.” Also according to bishop-accountability.org, Castaldo was convicted later that year on charges of engaging in sexually explicit online conversations with someone he thought was 14 years old.

Castaldo was arrested in May 2001 following a sting that resulted in 42 arrests and 35 convictions, according to Associated Press archives.

Mnsgr Weiss remembers Fr Castaldo, and many others named this week — “I’ve been in the diocese a long time,” he said Wednesday. “I knew most of those priests” — as well as his own actions when the Castaldo case began developing. The monsignor remembers Castaldo “had kind of a cadre of young men” who would spend a lot of time with the priest at the rectory.

“I contacted those parents immediately. I met with them, and they met with each of their sons, and they all had a very open and honest discussion, and those boys all said 'No, nothing untoward had happened,’” the monsignor said.

“I think the grooming was happening — they were 14, so definitely the right age — but it was also stopped then,” he added. “I was extremely careful when this Castaldo thing happened. I really moved on it very, very quickly.”

The Holzberg report shows 14 victims, ages 6-14, who alleged abuse by Castaldo between 1987 and 2001. Castaldo was removed from the ministry in 2002, and laicized in 2007.

Stubbs was pulled out of retirement by then-Bishop Egan in July 1997, when he was appointed an assistant pastor at St Rose. He was suspended later that year after allegations of molesting a boy during the 1980s surfaced. His case was also part of the large October 2013 settlement by the diocese, and he was laicized in 2004.

A Comprehensive Investigation

The investigation was launched in October 2018, after Bishop Caggiano retained Judge Holzberg and the law firm “to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the history of clergy sexual abuse of minors and the diocese’s response to that abuse,” according to notes in the report’s preface. The period scrutinized by the investigating team stretched from the founding of the diocese in 1953 to the present.

Judge Holzberg also wrote in the preface that he and his colleagues were granted full access to all available records of the Diocese of Bridgeport that related to the abuse of children and youth.

In addition to Judge Holzberg, the team also included Patricia LeBel-Lasse, Kristen F. Perkins, and Adam S. Mocciolo, Esq. Anne McCrory, the chief legal and real estate officer, served as the principal liaison between the independent team and the diocese during the past year.

The investigators were charged by Bishop Caggiano to describe any incidents and nature of abuse, the diocese’s knowledge of the abuse, its timing, and relevant victim and priest information.

The Bishop also asked investigators to evaluate the quality and completeness of the diocese as well as each individual bishop’s responses to abuse claims over time and to assess whether the responses were effective and timely, were compassionate to victims, contributed to or helped prevent future abuse, and complied with civil, criminal, and canon laws.

Those conducting the investigation were also tasked with making “pertinent observations arising from the review about the effect that the diocese responses to abuse have had on the wider diocesan community beyond the survivors themselves — including, for example, on the spiritual well-being of the laity as a whole, trust in and support for the diocese, or the effectiveness and morale of clergy not implicated in the misconduct.”

The team was also asked to recommend preventive measures and make the diocese aware of unmet compliance obligations.

The principal findings of the report include failures that “led to a generation of unrelenting negative publicity,” settlements in civil suits of approximately $56 million, “and, most profoundly, for many of the faithful a loss of trust in the Church and its teachings.”

‘Gravest Moral Lapse’

Judge Holzberg and his team reported that the existence of sexual abuse by certain priests of the diocese, “particularly abuse of children,” was known to the diocesan leadership as early as 1953.

The report calls out the first three men who served as bishops in the diocese. All three have since died.

Lawrence Shehan, who was the first bishop in the newly formed diocese, serving 1953-61, started the unfortunate trend of a collective response of diocesan officials that was “inadequate in every way” when it came to the sexual abuse crisis.

“The single gravest moral lapse was the consistent practice” of the bishops, “over four decades, of leaving abusive priests in service, and thereby making it possible for them to continue committing abuse acts.”

Shehan and Egan were also said to have “failed even to acknowledge, let alone comply with, their legal obligations arising from the 1971 state law mandating that priests report allegations of child sexual abuse to either law enforcement or the Department of Children and Families.”

Curtis, who served as the diocese’s second bishop (1961-88), reportedly failed to protect young parishioners when incidents of sexual abuse were brought to his attention. He reassigned a number of abusive priests to other sites, “where they could perpetrate more abuse,” and then failed to disclose to parishes the reasons for the reassignments.

“He recklessly accepted for transfer into the diocese at lease one priest with a known history of psychiatric illness, alcoholism, and sexual misconduct, and another priest who had been dismissed from seminary; both were eventually removed from the priesthood because of their sexual misconduct,” the report states.

“There is no evidence that he undertook any affirmative efforts to assist victims of abuse.”

Egan, who served in Bridgeport from 1988 until 2000, was “profoundly unsympathetic, inadequate, and inflammatory,” the report states. Among other charges, Egan believed his principal responsibility “was to preserve the assets and reputation of the diocese rather than to work for the well-being of survivors and secure justice for them.”

The reports calls out his “indifference” and “outright hostility” toward victims, cites “operational failures,” and “the reassignment of known abusive priests to locations and duties in which their abusive behavior continued.”

The treatment of survivors during the Curtis and Egan administrations, the report states, “has deepened the wounds of the abused beyond the initial damage inflicted by the priests themselves.”

Msgr Weiss thinks many people knew “that these people had a problem, and they were being reassigned,” he said this week. “You hate to use the times as an excuse, but they certainly were different times.

“But it certainly did not solve the problem, reassigning and ignoring the hurt that was caused to the victims.”

Priests Also Scarred

The report also points out that an “overwhelming majority of hard-working and dedicated priests who have faithfully adhered to their vows have likewise been scarred by the misdeeds of their colleagues.”

“For many, there is a sense of shame, loss, and betrayal, and abiding uncertainty as to how to minister to the needs of parishioners in the face of constant scrutiny and suspicion arising out of the clergy sexual abuse scandal of the past 50-plus years,” the report relates.

The 71 priests named in the report constitute 4.7 percent of the approximately 1,500 priests who have served the diocese since 1953.

A New Direction

Bishop Lori, who served the diocese from 2001-12, and Bishop Caggiano, who has served since July 2013, are strongly credited with reversing the approach of the diocese when it comes to reporting abuse and disciplining abusers.

The report notes these diocese leaders have adopted zero-tolerance policies for accused priests and other personnel, “committing to permanently and completely removing clergy from duty for any incident of sexual abuse.”

The two church leaders are also credited with establishing new approaches for outreach, conciliation, and support of survivors. Existing allegations continue to be reviewed for credibility, and cases are re-reviewed whenever new information is uncovered.

In Newtown, Msgr Weiss agreed with the praise for the Most Rev Caggiano.

“Our bishop is extremely aggressive on this issue. As soon as something emerges, he is on top of it,” he said.

The diocese has been recognized for its efforts with training for Virtus, a national program designed to “prevent wrongdoing and promote ‘rightdoing’ within religious organizations,” according to the program’s website.

“Erin Neil has been recognized nationally for the program she developed for our diocese, for the follow-up, reporting, meeting with families and counseling services,” Msgr Weiss said of the licensed clinical social worker who serves full-time as the director of Safe Environment and victim assistance coordinator for the diocese. “She has really created a comprehensive program here called Safe Environment.”

Within his own parish, said the monsignor, creating a safe environment is paramount. He replied with a confident Yes when asked if St Rose is a safe parish.

“We have meetings regularly — clergy, principals, youth ministry, parents,” he said. Parents sign permission slips before a youth minister can contact their child. When religious educations classes end, parents must go into the building to pick up their child/children.

“We don’t just send them out to the car,” said Msgr Weiss.

Anyone who volunteers must have a background check. Office doors have windows now, as does the confessional. St Rose priests are very careful about never being alone with one child or young adult, Msgr Weiss pointed out.

“We’ve set up a number of things here, in the parish and the diocese, that have really helped to stem any issues that have developed,” Msgr Weiss said. “There are all these things that are going on that people are also not going to know about.

While the report notes that “many in the diocese remain extremely skeptical of healing efforts or have been permanently alienated from the Church,” it does point out that investigators did not identify any report of abuse occurring since 2008.

“No place is ever going to be 100 percent safe,” the parish priest admitted. That thought isn’t strong enough to stop anyone’s efforts, however. “We’re all doing our best to protect everyone,” he said.

“Reporting of sexual abuse is often long-delayed, and the [current absence of any accusations] does not necessarily mean that abuse had not occurred since 2008,” the report cautions.

Msgr Weiss also agrees with that assessment.

“Now that this is out, perhaps somebody might come forward,” he said.

According to the Holzberg report, continuing challenges for the diocese include attending to survivors, “to the morale and effectiveness of non-offending clergy, and to the fractured relationship between the diocese and its parishioners.”

While he knows that many people have left the Catholic Church due to the ongoing scandal and subsequent allegations of abuse, Msgr Weiss remains hopeful for his faith and for victims who still need to have their story told.

“Definitely this is used as an excuse to leave the Church,” he said. “But I just think there is so much — so many issues that we have been covering and dealing with and have been open and transparent about. I think if anyone had any concern, I hope they would voice them immediately.”