More than 150 Catholic priests are accused of “horrific and repeated” acts of pedophilia against at least 600 children between the 1940s and 2002 in Maryland, a US justice announced Wednesday, condemning the Church’s “complicity”, according to AFP.

According to a report by the U.S. Attorney for the Northeastern State, these archdiocese priests and staff “perpetrated repeated horrific acts against the most vulnerable children in their community while the archdiocese leadership turned a blind eye.”

The document is dedicated to the Archdiocese of Baltimore, located near Washington. This is the result of an open investigation in 2018, as in many other states, after the shocking investigation in Pennsylvania.

Approximately 156 members of the Church who are suspected of pedophilia in relation to more than 600 children have been identified. But the real number of victims is “probably much higher,” authorities say, pointing out that only a small proportion of rapes are reported.

They insist on the “complicity” of the church hierarchy, which “refused to consider claims of sexual abuse of children.”

“When denial became impossible,” the church simply reassigned the accused to positions where they sometimes worked around children again, according to the indictment.

“The archdiocese cared more about avoiding scandal or negative publicity than about protecting children,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Although the report is official, it is not an accusation.

In 2018, an investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office revealed acts of pedophilia committed by more than 300 “predatory priests” against at least 1,000 children and covered up by the Catholic Church.

The announcement sent shockwaves across the United States, with many states reporting thousands more victims.

Archbishop: These “diabolical actions (occurred)”

In its own investigation, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office relied on hundreds of thousands of documents, as well as the testimony of victims and witnesses.

The vast majority of those involved have been named, but most of them are dead and therefore cannot be prosecuted.

After the report was released, Archbishop William Laurie offered his “sincere apologies” to the victims, admitting in a statement that these “evil acts (indeed) took place.”

He promised that this “reprehensible period” in the history of the archdiocese “will neither be silenced nor forgotten.” Since the end of the 1990s, “radical changes” have been decided to “end this scourge,” he assured.