Bishop Accountability
 
 

The Manchester Archives

The Manchester Archives -- some 9,000 pages of diocesan files and investigative material -- offer a comprehensive look at sexual abuse committed by the priests of the Manchester NH diocese. The archives also provide extensive information about how the diocese responded or failed to respond to allegations of abuse by its priests. Unlike the excellent report issued by the attorney general, which because of time pressure was restricted to assessments of 8 priests, the Manchester Archive presents information on 60 priests.

These archives are by far the largest such collection of documents available on the Internet. Here you will find a vast range of source material, including seminary records, written allegations, police reports, treatment center assessments, priest transfers, petitions from parishioners on behalf of accused priests, and extensive interviews of priests and victims conducted by the attorney general's Task Force. These files are a microcosm of the crisis. They will allow victims, Catholic laity, journalists, and citizens to understand the crisis in a way hitherto impossible.

  • Survivors can learn more about the priest who abused them.
  • Parishioners can read about abusive priests who served in their parishes.
  • Readers of the NH AG report can do research on issues that concern them.
  • People in Boston and other dioceses can learn more about the order priests and Boston priests who are also included in these files.
  • Students of the crisis can learn about particular topics, such as seminary formation, transfers of priests, and the role of treatment centers.
Warning: These files are a shocking record of criminal behavior, and as such they will be sad and disturbing to read, especially for victims of sexual abuse. If you are a victim of abuse, please take a moment to read a message from fellow-survivors about this issue. The NH AG has made these files available to the public in the hope that the "documents will help to protect minors in the future by educating the public about the dangers and devastating effects of child sexual assault" (Report on the Investigation, p. 20). The AG's office has carefully redacted these documents, but we would ask victims and other readers to be alert for redaction errors. If you spot a redaction error, please notify us at staff@bishop-accountability.org, and we will take the file down until the error is corrected.

In making these public documents more accessible, the staff at BishopAccountability.org has taken the precaution of providing this gateway page, so that visitors to the site are aware of the nature of these files before they read them. In order to view the files, please read the following statement and click "I agree." (Your click does NOT store any personal information about you in our files.)

Agreement

I understand that these documents, publicly released by the NH AG under an agreement with the Diocese of Manchester, contain detailed descriptions of abuse by priests. These descriptions could be triggering to victims and disturbing to other readers. I acknowledge that I have been warned about this content, and I take full responsibility for viewing it. I agree to release and hold harmless the NH AG and BishopAccountability.org for any alleged errors of selection or redaction in these public documents.

Further, if I receive payment for any writing of my own in which I quote from these documents, I agree to purchase the original CD from the NH AG http://www.state.nh.us/nhdoj/, and I agree to cite the AG's CD properly as my source.

  
 
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