He was my mentor, says one. "I was sexually abused by Maskell.". SCOTT MAUCIONE, BYLINE: Jean Hargedon Wehner was just a teenager when Father Joseph Maskell allegedly abused her at a Baltimore high school in the 1960s. Since then, general interest in the case has increased. They quickly decided there was. Maskell was one of those priests, and Hargedon Wehner says at one point during her alleged repeated abuses, he emptied the bullets from a gun and held it to her head. From figures in a report commissioned by the Archdiocese of Chicago, priest-sociologist Andrew Greeley also estimates the current national figure of child-molesting priests at between 2,000 and 4,000, with each one of them likely to victimize an estimated 50 minors over the course of a career. A study by the medical journal BMC Public Health says the average age of a victim reporting sexual abuse is 52. Allegations against Maskell continued to mount from other alleged survivors, and the church ultimately barred Maskell from his priestly duties in 1995. Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook, First published on June 6, 2017 / 9:46 AM. "And if they had, I wouldnt have done it. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. HARGEDON WEHNER: It's going to validate survivors to their families and to those loved ones that didn't necessarily know how to believe such a horrible thing. The late Father Joseph Maskell, one of the accused priests, is an important character in the Netflix series, leading many to wonder: how did Father Maskell Die? WebOne name stands out among the rest in the Maryland Attorney Generals report on child sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. But narcissists dont grow out of it and can become a law unto themselves, he says. My mother worked for a Catholic school, not where I went but another local Catholic school, and my mother was very active in mothers club. Ann*, who doesnt wish to be named because I still have a fear of the man, says Maskell invited her on a boat ride with some other girls. Joseph Maskell was summoned downtown to Baltimores archdiocesan headquarters. The show delves into the decades-old cold case of the young nun who vanished in late 1969 and was found dead two months later. Please contact Find a Grave at [emailprotected] if you need help resetting your password. In her minds eye, she saw him wearing the black clerical cape that he often favored during the winter, and she claims that he asked her to look deeply into his eyes and told her: You wont remember. In his search for relevant information, Judge Hilary Caplan, a 12-year veteran jurist, had personally sorted through the load of papers that Maskell had ordered buried four years earlier in Holy Cross cemeteryostensibly to protect parishioner privacy without violating a ban against outdoor burning. What was his involvement?. A system error has occurred. WebA woman received acknowledgment of crimes and financial assistance for counseling from the archdiocese in 11/2016 due to her claims of rape by Magnus and another priest, Rev. He denied the sexual assault accusations until his death, and he was never He changed the subject, but after he lapsed into a description of sights hed seen on lovers lane, Ann says she asked to be taken home. Bill says he began to feel cautious around Maskell. [Jennifer], is it the priests? Jennifer indicated that it was. At St. Augustine, as the deadline approached, Maskell drew withdrawn. Father Anthony Joseph Maskell engaged in several years worth of sex abuse and physical harm of children starting in the late 1960s, according to the report, which lays out dozens of examples to how the Archdiocese of Baltimore systematically enabled the sexual abuse of children for decades. She told him to just leave me alone.. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. He brings up some of her dreams from the 1980s: a soldier shoots a nun and then rapes her while Eva watches numbly; Eva skates through a cathedral and is taken aside and raped. She said he showed her the dead body of a teacher, Sister Cathy Cesnik (pictured), whod gone missing and threatened her with the same fate if she ever told anyone about their sexual encounters. I remember kicking somebody in the mouth. Nonetheless, Maskell is hoping that, after the civil appeal, the Archdiocese of Baltimore will reinstate his priestly faculties, so that he can once again shepherd a flock in some faraway place and reclaim his youthful ideal of being the one to say: This is right; thats wrong. The men pretended to have discovered the items in Jennifers school locker, she says. Fr. The reprieve was shortlived. Maskell asked her to explain the abuse in detail, she says, and prescribed five Hail Marys and two acts of contrition. Suggestions of a cover-up by the archdiocese are speculative and false.. Pedophilia the sexual attraction to pre-pubescents, and ephebophilia, the attraction to young adolescents, are often regarded nowadays as biological compulsionno more changeable than, say, adult heterosexuality. Indeed, some popes, including the very first, Saint Peter, enjoyed the worldly pleasures of family life. Failed to delete memorial. Hopefully, the attention and hype that the Netflix series puts on this case will help the truth about Cesnik's tragic death come to light, much as the popularity of Serial and Making a Murderer did for their respective cases. Physical pain. She alleges Maskell once forced her to have sex with a uniformed police officer and at least once to have sex with someone who gave the priest money. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Teachings from the churchs leaders, Mroz said, became manipulative. Most of these men have been stripped of their collars; one committed suicide. Maskell died in 2001, and until his death, he had denied the allegations. Could the recently recovered memory of a long-forgotten offense become grounds for a proper lawsuit? As one alleged survivor pointed out in a recent confrontation with the archdiocese: Gods not happy about that., As the Maskell case approaches winter unresolved, the beleaguered priest remains largely invisible. During cross-examination, the attorney for her high school gynecologist portrayed Tracy as an opportunist with a history of drug use. The Nazi doctors killed, but, by their lights, did not murder. You wont remember. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Anthony Maskell (179180629)? I was kind of frightened. According to CNN, Father Maskells body was exhumed in February to see whether his SCOTT MAUCIONE, BYLINE: Jean Hargedon Wehner was just a teenager when Father Joseph Maskell allegedly abused her at a Baltimore high school in the 1960s. MAUCIONE: Hargedon Wehner was just one of the 600 alleged victims a Maryland attorney general's report found during an investigation into the Archdiocese of Baltimore over the past 80 years. The final cleansing process was for him to penetrate me with his penis, because Jesus worked through him, says Cruz. Please reset your password. Roman Catholic Priest in the Baltimore Archdiocese who worked as a guidance counselor and chaplain at Archbishop Keogh High School in Baltimore from 1965-1975.In retirement, Maskell lived at "Stella Maris", a Catholic living and nursing facility in Timonium, MD. Within the past decade, more than 12 area priests have been publicly implicated in the sexual abuse of minors. One day, Nelson opened the door to Evas hospital room to find Maskell, bent close over her daughter, his arm resting on the edge of her bed. Father Joseph Maskell was exhumed from his Baltimore grave on February 28 to have his DNA tested against evidence found next to Sister Cathy Cessnik's body in 1969. He died in 2001 without ever facing arrest for the nun's murder. Why did they allow us harm when they are supposed to be following a loving god, a protecting god, and yet we were victimized? asked Mroz. An investigation of abuse by 150 priests of the Archdiocese of After hearing his invitation to light up, theyd smoke until they got dizzy, spinning their tales of parental misunderstanding, or boyfriend problems, as the priest would nod appreciatively and take notes. Per the woman they raped her at a CYO picnic in 9/1970, According to the Baltimore Sun, Maskell denied the accusations until his death in 2001. She cried. I dont think Father Maskells connected to her death in any way., The newspaper ad mailed to Keough alumnae arrived at the Howard County home of Tracy* in the fall of 1993. I said, Gee, I thought I got in on my own merit. And he said, No, you have a reading disability, and you would never have gotten in if it werent for me. And then he asked me if there was anything that I could do for him. Babe Nelson brought up the time when Eva, at age 12, had collapsed at school. Maskell also took Tracy to a gynecologist, Tracy asserts, and watched her examinations. In August 1994, with Maskell back at the Connecticut facility, the archdiocese waited out the attorneys. / CBS Baltimore. After years and years, its really hard to say, but some things you just need to bring out in order to heal, she said. The group fell silent. One occasion he just spanked me., OK. Several detectives who worked on the case, including retired homicide detective Louis George "Bud" Roemer, reported having been told by "higher-ups" in the police department to lay off the investigation at various junctures. His sister, Maureen Baldwin, puts it most emphatically: My brother has done nothingrepeat, nothingwrong.. I told him that it couldnt have been true, she recalls. Try to stay away from him.". Allegations of Maskells sexual abuse began to surface in 1992. What Happened to Father Maskell After 'The Keepers Maskell looked to the archbishop. The Subject Of Netflix's 'The Nurse' Denies Her Attempted Murder Convictions, Allan Gore Reportedly Lives A Quiet Life Decades After The Events Of 'Love & Death', The True Story Of Candy Montgomery From HBO Max's True Crime Series, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. In February 1995, Maskells priestly duties were permanently revoked. When Maskells friend Albert Griffith called to say he was depressed and thinking of blowing my brains out, Maskell drove to Severna Park within 15 minutes. Mroz reported her allegations that Maskell abused her to the church, and with legal representation, she hopes to work with church representatives through mediation, and declined to give further details about her alleged assault due to these ongoing discussions. Its not unreasonable to interpret Evas dreams as tapping into repressed memories of her experiences with Maskell, says Ellis. Many women today recall his being genuinely helpful. ' According to Karen, the priest had specific questions about her boyfriends anatomy. Seminarians, he says, need to be aware of themselves as sexual beings and to realize that their sexuality is going to affect their fashion of dealing with other human beings in each and every instance. Over the next few days, Eva Cruz became consumed with the sound of water slapping against the hull of a boat and the idea that something had happened between her and Maskell. What happened to Father Joseph Maskell, the abusive priest Maskell had insisted that in order for her to be completely cleansed of the incestuous sins with her grandfather, it was necessary for her to disrobe, she says. She and Teresa Lancaster, then both known anonymously as Jane Doe and Jane Roe, filed charges against Maskell in 1994, in a case that was eventually thrown out on a technicality in 1995. Being dropped off at the St. Clement rectory. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. If one more person says something to me that came from you, Im gonna make sure you dont graduate.. Cruz told the group that Maskell had taken her to a boat and that she was convinced the two had had intercourse, and also that he had penetrated her with an object she couldnt picture. During the 10-minute break that followed, Sun reporter Robert Erlandson buttonholed Dantes in the back of the courtroom. Copyright 2023 NPR. Deborah Wisner, of Keoughs class of 74, also went to see Maskell to smoke and discuss family problems. Maskell was born in Baltimore, but his family was from Ireland, said Baltimore archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine. Teresa Lancaster, who was featured in "The Keepers" as an abuse survivor, said Maskell spoke about Ireland when he was working at Archbishop Keough. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person whos on TikTok, even if you arent. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Maskell served at Sacred Heart of Mary (Baltimore) from 1965 to 1966, at St. Clement (Lansdowne) from 1966 to While recently walking along First Avenue in Landsdowne, she recalled visiting Maskell at St. Clement. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. For six hours, she says, he interrogated her. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. As of now, the true nature of Cesnik's death and whether Maskell was actually involved are undetermined. She was crying when her friend Lisa* brought her to Maskells office, she says, adding that the priest then led Lisa out the door and locked it. Sipe has interviewed or reviewed the histories of more than 2,000 Catholic priests. Diocesan representatives tried to smooth things over with the parish leadership. It was chilling, Mroz told Oxygen.com, recounting her allegations that she was one of the victims of school counselor and chaplain Father A. Joseph Maskell, but not to the extent of some of the other students. He died in 2001. Despite his earlier declaration to parishioners, he asked the archdiocese if he could return to the Institute of Living, citing stress from the ongoing ordeal. They called Tracy to the stand, where she carefully recited her old, then new alleged memories of Maskell. Maskell raised the subject, Heim believes, as a way of saying that at this one point in his life, he had experienced romantic love. Like many of Maskells victims, Mrozs memory wasnt fully in tact, and she had other reasons for not speaking up sooner one of which was her family. Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you. He told me that was my bond with the devil and before I was to wash my hand, I was to consider breaking all bonds with the path that I was on. Father Joseph Maskell: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know You need a Find a Grave account to continue. He homed in on that. Through this warped looking-glass, anything a priest might do is, by default, holya view that often has been adopted by parishioners. Please enter your email and password to sign in. By 1994, Maskell no longer worked at the high school and was the pastor of Holy Cross Church in Baltimore. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? The church community is portrayed as insular, with its members and leaders interwoven into one anothers lives and families. Later in the hearing, psychotherapists testified that Tracy and Jennifer were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from their alleged abuse by Maskell. In 1992, an individual alleged sexual abuse by A. Joseph Maskell between 1968 and 1972. Bill didnt have one, but Maskell did, back in the rectory. Asterisks denote pseydonyms. According to Maureen Baldwin, her brother was so intent on becoming a priest that he never had a date in his life. The spiritual value of celibacy, in theory, is to demonstrate a priests religious commitmentand his link to Christ. She requested a meeting with one of the diocesan representatives without lawyers present and was told no. Maskell knew Jennifer had not let the matter rest, but he clung to the hope that his vocation would endure. But that he would make it so that God would love me again through him. At one point in episode four of the documentary, Teresa Lancaster -- who in 1994 sued Dr. Richter, Father Maskell and the Archdiocese under the name "Jane "Nobody ever told me to back off the investigation in order to protect the Catholic Church," Roemer told the Baltimore Sun. Do you believe those girls trying to accuse Father Maskell of such outrageous behavior? one of them said. If his developmental years were any indication, Maskell displayed little outward interest in any sexual life at all. Father Maskell would have been more meticulous, he maintains. Or did they participate in the abuse?, Didnt you testify that you found that memory absurd and almost impossible to accept?, Lastly we have the Bishop. Maskell, who died in 2001, always denied the allegations against him. Collins. I am one of his victims.". In 'The Keepers Says Hawkins of Maskells plight: Youd be surprised how your phone stops ringing. She said Maskell wasnt the only man present, and described abuse by Maskell and another school official that included taking photos of her, as a minor, naked, and calling her in for joint counseling sessions during which they would masturbate in front of her. Bill graduated on time, and within three months Maskell, though continuing to reside and perform some duties at St. Clement, was assigned to Archbishop Keough High School for girls. Wehner gave the two diocesan representatives names of a number of adults who had allegedly abused her sexually while she was a student at Keoughincluding a former Baltimore City politician. She claims that one day during ninth grade, Maskell summoned her to his office to mention that her reading aptitude was below par. Documents show that the Archdiocese reached settlements with 15 of Maskell's You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. However, Jennifer Wortham, chair of the Global Collaborative, a network of child advocacy organizations, says civil lawsuit limitations are only one part of the puzzle. But other cases are better explained as the consequence of narcissistic personality disorder, according to some experts. For a brief moment, shortly after his exile to Connecticut, it looked like Fr. While Catholic Universitys Collins is amply willing to accept this as a sociological truism, he is uncomfortable with the next extension of Sipes argument, calling it inflammatory., Sipe raises the extreme analogy of S.S. officers who, after a busy day of killing homosexuals, purportedly indulged in homo-erotic behavior amongst themselves. He took his big pocket watch out. Says another: He helped me to put my life back together. Now a 38-year-old mother of two, the Baltimore woman had only recently remembered these alleged abuses, and contacted the archdiocese in late June in search of an apology and some spiritual help. In the first of these alleged abuses, she recalls confessing to a Keough priest that her uncle had urged her to let a dog lick her sexually, and that the dog later died. In 1993, she says, she recalled that Maskell allegedly hypnotized her: He would use a certain phrase and everything would just stop. The phrase, she says, was, I only want whats best for you, just whats best for you. She says he told her that before divulging a certain incident to anyone, I was to kill myself.. Joyce Malecki Maskell chaplained for the Baltimore County Police, the Maryland State Police and the Maryland National Guard. the nun asked. CNN reported in 2017 that police had the okay to exhume his body for DNA testing, but even then, the DNA wasn't a match with what was found at the crime scene. Or even, for therapeutic or other reasons, he might need to recreate that sinas though his priestly presence would somehow transform the act. It marked them for life. In a 2014 statement to Inside Baltimore (which is a website published by Baltimore reporter and Keepers subject Tom Nugent), former Keough student Teresa Lancaster alleged that she approached Magnus for help with Maskell, but he allegedly brushed her off. HSE investigates activities of US priest featured in Netflix series MAUCIONE: Survivors of the abuse are now bracing for when the judge will finally release the report, likely in the coming days or weeks. And he gave me final absolution, she said. In addition to the allegations against Father Joseph Maskell, several of the women interviewed in "The Keepers" also say they were abused by a local gynecologist, Dr. Christian Richter. He told me my problem was that I was frigid, she claims. Former students and abuse victims told HuffPost that they'd confided in Cesnik about the rampant abuse they were allegedly experiencing prior to her death and that the beloved teacher had intervened on their behalf. While declining to be interviewed for this story, Maskell has repeatedly maintained his complete innocence. I always wondered if he was going to revolt at some point, Heim says. Police: Exhuming Priest's Body For DNA 'Absolutely Something Even given the prospect that Maskell might be unjustly accused, he would have to fight for himself under the new ruleswithout the protective embrace of the institution that had nurtured him for his entire adulthood. Im sorry. I was confused, she says, yet excited that someone out there was going to take action.. Friends from his teen years cant recall Maskell ever expressing a libido. Cruz brought her mother. Joseph Maskell, Tracy said. The crisis contains disturbing truths about the power of human denial. Caplan continued that he was not judging the plaintiffs credibilitymerely the empirical evidence of repressed memory. The Murder Of Catherine Cesnik, The Nun Who This is a carousel with slides. Any daily atrocities were reinterpreted as part of the larger, supposedly higher, mission of cleansing and healing Europe. But neither mental health professional who testified for the plaintiffs was an expert in memory. Rev Anthony Joseph Maskell (1939-2001) - Find a Grave Memorial Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Maskell, though, was still at Keough, and Jennifer claims he told her someone had approached him during the summer and accused him of hurting the girls.. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. I know now that I was led to believe that I killed her.. When the doctor prescribed a thrice-weekly douche, Maskell offered the private bathroom adjoining his office for that purpose. She phoned the archdiocese to complain, he says. This first week in May, Caplan was holding a preliminary hearing to consider whether so-called recovered memories constituted justifiable exception to the states three-year statute of limitations in civil suits. He used to say with a smile, Were sacristans. Jennifer claims she now remembers a cold dayMaskell was wearing gloves; she, a coatwhen he took her to visit Cesniks corpse. I cant, he allegedly replied. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Tracy offered to be a witness, she says. And please note there are details of sexual violence at moments over the next 3 1/2 minutes, and it may be unsuitable for some listeners. Fr Joseph Maskell He was ordained as Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? MAUCIONE: David Lorenz, the Maryland director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, says the reports are a way for victims to grieve and to hold the church accountable. The Keepers highlights components of the culture surrounding the church and practicing families that may have contributed to a continuation of the abuse. That woman was dying and Joe knew it.. As a follow-up investigation, two diocesan representatives met with Maskells first accuser, Jennifer*, who by now had gotten herself an attorney. The priest advised her to stay away from Maskell and shut the door in her face, she says. After giving graphic details of her alleged abuse, she was pressed for the names of witnesses or other victims. A newspaper account from the time, however, describes the field as a dump., And county detective Sam Bowerman, an FBI-trained expert in criminal personality profiling, believes Cesniks murderer was a stranger. JENNIFER WORTHAM: We need significant reform, and we can have uniform federal laws to protect children everywhere, because what applies to the Catholic Church also applies to other not-for-profit organizations. The hammer came down in two seven-count complaints, asking for a total reward to Jennifer and Tracy of $40 million. According to the series, not a good guy, that's who. But Babe Nelson doubted her daughter was lucid enough to make a confession; the girl even seemed to be asleep. She laughed. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? He sat on his desk, perched above her. According to Huffington Post's 2015 feature on Cesnik's murder, Maskell was the chaplain of Archbishop Keough High School at the time when 26-year-old Cesnik taught English and drama there. In the churchs eyes, her credibility diminished with each new allegation. All rights reserved. HSE investigates activities of US priest featured in Netflix series By May 1995, neither the citys criminal investigation of sexual abuselimited by the narrower laws of 1970nor the countrys investigation into the murder of Sister Cesnik had brought any indictments against Maskell. A group of Towson lawyers claims that, in addition to their two plaintiffs, theyve met with 15 people who say Maskell subjected them to one or more sexual violations. Joseph Francis Maskell, an office-furniture salesman with Lucas Brothers, was known for his short fuse. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Allegedly, the priest confronted him: Listen, you little mf-r. As he was rocking me, he said, Your father isnt affectionate enough with you. I was upset because he was saying stuff about my father, and it made me cry, she says, adding that her mother called the school to complain about the incident only to have her call transferred directly to Maskell. Though the caller wouldnt divulge the meetings agenda, Maskell couldnt help wondering: Was it time for him to be transferred to another parish? MAUCIONE: Often, it takes years for people to come to terms with their abuse. Since The Keepers release, more than 40,000 people have signed a petition asking the Archdiocese to release documents regarding Maskells alleged abuse. In 1966, about 16 months after his ordination, a young Father Joseph Maskell became associate pastor at St. Clement in Lansdowne. Years later, after her mother died in early 1993, Tracy claims she had several new memories about Maskell, in which the priest had not merely observed her gynecological exams and treatments, but had allegedly helped administer them. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/179180629/anthony-joseph-maskell. Try again later. A couple of months later, Wehner called a follow-up meeting at her attorneys office to share names of alleged abusers she had been remembering.