Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Involving Former Falmouth Priest Settled

FALMOUTH, MA – A settlement has been reached in a sexual abuse lawsuit involving a former Falmouth priest, according to the Cape Cod Times. Two men – one from Falmouth and the other from Marlborough – each received $200,000 settlements in the lawsuit, which alleged years-long abuse by Monsignor Maurice Souza.

Souza, assigned to St. Anthony's from 1977 to 1986, died in 1996 at the age of 83, according to the Times. The suit alleged Most Rev. Daniel Cronin, who served as bishop of the Fall River Diocese from 1970 to 1991 and supervised Souza, "knew or should have known" about the abuse.

The boys had been altar servers at St. Anthony's during the late 1970s and early 1980s and were abused from the ages of 9 or 10 until they were 16 or 17, the suit alleged. Cronin's "agents" were aware of Souza's overnights at the rectory and out-of-state trips with the boys, when the abuse is alleged to have occurred, according to the suit.

As part of the settlement, Cronin "neither admitted nor denied" the abuse, the Times reported.

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