Globe columnist Eileen McNamara wrote about sealed court records in civil suits involving former priest John J. Geoghan—raising the prospect that key facts about church handling of abuse might never become public. The column helped catalyze the Globe’s decision to pursue court access and a deeper investigation.
The Boston Globe filed a Massachusetts Superior Court action seeking access to sealed documents in the Geoghan-related civil litigation, a key step toward obtaining evidence about institutional decision-making within the archdiocese.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney ordered court records in the Geoghan civil cases unsealed, enabling broader public scrutiny of allegations and archdiocesan conduct reflected in litigation materials.
After the archdiocese appealed the unsealing order, Judge Cynthia Cohen rejected the appeal, clearing the way for public release of the Geoghan court documents.
The Spotlight Team published its first major front-page story, reporting that church officials had long known of Geoghan’s abuse history yet reassigned him across parishes—framing the investigation as an institutional accountability story, not a single-priest scandal.
The Geoghan civil case files were released to the public, providing documentary detail that strengthened continued reporting and accelerated wider recognition of systemic concealment patterns.
The Globe expanded the scope beyond a single case, reporting that “scores” of priests had been involved in sex-abuse allegations—helping shift public understanding from isolated misconduct to a larger pattern.
The Ford v. Law litigation concerning Rev. Paul R. Shanley added another major alleged abuser and helped further expose how diocesan leadership responded to repeated warnings and accusations.
A judge denied the archdiocese’s attempt to restrict disclosure around Shanley-related materials in civil litigation, limiting efforts to keep information confidential as the investigation continued.
A Suffolk Superior Court judge required Cardinal Bernard F. Law to be questioned under oath in litigation tied to Geoghan, marking a watershed moment in which a US cardinal was compelled to participate in civil discovery about his administrative actions.
As the crisis deepened, 58 priests in the Boston Archdiocese signed a petition calling for Cardinal Law to step down or be removed—evidence of internal institutional fracture amid continued reporting and public pressure.
Pope John Paul II accepted Cardinal Bernard Law’s resignation as Archbishop of Boston as the scandal and documented evidence of concealment continued to mount—an outcome widely linked to the Globe’s sustained investigative coverage and ensuing accountability demands.
The Pulitzer Prize Board awarded The Boston Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its comprehensive coverage of clergy sexual abuse, recognizing the work’s impact in piercing secrecy and prompting broad civic and institutional response.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office released a formal report on the sexual abuse of children within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, documenting institutional failures and recommending reforms—an official capstone to many of the central findings Spotlight reporting had pushed into public view.
Boston Globe Spotlight team's clergy sexual abuse investigation (2001-2003)
