Victims’ attorneys put 6,000 pages online Tuesday. They detail alleged abuse by 30 priests against about 50 victims.
Kathy Laarveld’s son was one of those molested by a priest. For years, she was a staunch supporter of her parish. She was the secretary, the cook, even did the laundry for the priests, who were regular dinner guests.
She had no idea that Vincent McCaffrey, one of these priests she trusted, was abusing her son.
“McCaffrey actually took advantage of my son on his First Communion in my home, in front of my family,” Laarveld said.
It was not until her son told her about 10 years ago — 20 years later — that she learned the truth. McCaffrey admitted during court hearings to molesting so many children that he lost count. The documents show he offended at every parish where he served, including that of Laarveld and her son.
“I can’t forgive myself, I’m his mother. I would have jumped in front of a bus or a train before I would ever have let anybody touch him,” she said.
Laarveld and her husband, Jim, are among survivors of priest sex abuse and their families who worked to get these papers released. Their attorneys say they refused to settle their cases unless the files went public.
The 30 priests described in the documents are about half the number the Archdiocese lists as credibly accused.
Attorney Jeff Anderson, who represented victims in these cases, spell out the accusation of a cover-up. He said, “Priests were offending children, and they made intentional and conscious choices to conceal that, protect the priests, protect the reputation of the Archdiocese, and in effect conceal the crime and give safe harbor to the offender.”