Catholic priest pleads guilty to 1970s sexual assault of Baltimore boy
Father Laurence LaPointe pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree sex offense and assault for abusing a boy at Baltimore’s Gilman School in the mid-1970s. A judge sentenced LaPointe to three years in prison, suspended the sentence, and ordered five years of supervised probation, including restrictions on contact with minors. The victim said the guilty plea shifted the burden of the abuse from him to LaPointe and urged the priest to acknowledge any other misconduct. LaPointe serves in the Diocese of Norwich, which placed him on ministry leave in March after the allegations surfaced.
10 hours ago
Father Laurence LaPointe, 81, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a boy in Baltimore in the mid-1970s. He received a suspended prison sentence and five years of supervised probation.
The Maryland attorney general’s office said LaPointe admitted abusing the boy at Gilman School. On Nov. 4, he pleaded guilty to a fourth-degree sex offense and common-law assault in Baltimore City Circuit Court.
Judge Charles Dorsey III sentenced LaPointe to three years in prison, then suspended the term. His five years of supervised probation include a ban on direct contact with anyone under 18 and on working or volunteering in an educational setting involving minors.
The victim told the court that the guilty plea meant the “heavy burden” of the abuse passed from him to LaPointe. He also urged the priest to disclose any other misconduct without requiring other victims to go through investigations or trials.
LaPointe is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich in Connecticut. The diocese had placed him on ministry leave in March, after the allegations surfaced; he had been serving as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish. The diocese did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his status following the plea.
The Church must protect children and pursue justice
Yes. Protecting children and pursuing justice are obligations rooted in the Church’s mission, not optional responses to scandal. The Church’s credibility depends not only on condemning abuse, but on protecting those at risk, listening to survivors, acknowledging harm, holding offenders and negligent leaders accountable, and taking effective steps to prevent abuse from happening again.
The Church has described the effective protection of minors and their human dignity as integral to the Gospel’s message. This responsibility applies to children regardless of their religion, and it includes preventing harm as well as responding when abuse occurs. Pope Francis likewise insisted that abuse is unacceptable and that every member of the Church has a responsibility—according to their role—to help prevent it and work for justice and healing.
That means safeguarding cannot rest on goodwill alone. It requires vigilance, sound procedures, training, and a willingness to review whether protections are actually working. Church leaders have specifically been urged to make sure children and vulnerable people are safe in parishes and other Church institutions, and to review safeguarding norms regularly.
Survivors must not be treated as obstacles to the Church’s reputation or as problems to be managed. Listening to them is a necessary part of prevention, healing, and rebuilding trust. Pope Francis taught that placing those who have suffered at the centre of the Church’s actions helps form a culture of prevention and makes the community face what happened rather than turn away from it.
Pope Leo XIV describes listening to victims and acknowledging harm as integral to justice, alongside just reparation and measures to prevent recurrence. This is more than an expression of sympathy: it requires taking people’s experiences seriously and responding responsibly.
Christian mercy does not excuse abuse, conceal wrongdoing, or replace accountability. The Church has explicitly called for the prosecution of those who commit such crimes, particularly in ecclesial settings. Pope Francis also stated that concern about avoiding scandal must never take priority over protecting children, and that those who abuse minors have no place in ministry.
Justice also addresses failures to act. In 2023, Francis identified leaders’ failures to stop abuse and assist victims as real sins of omission—wrongs committed through failing to do what one should have done. Accountability therefore concerns not only perpetrators, but also the responsibility of those entrusted with protecting children when they neglect that duty.
Survivors may carry profound and lasting wounds; the Church must not assume that an apology or a single act of pastoral care resolves them. Church responses should include sustained listening and appropriate support, while also working to repair harm and prevent repetition. As Pope Francis put it, “Abuse in any form is unacceptable.”
The Church’s task, then, is not merely to say that children are precious. It must make that conviction visible in safe practices, transparent responsibility, serious action against abuse, and care for those harmed. Justice and healing are not rivals: the Church’s teaching presents them as connected parts of a truthful response.