'Soul murder': Clergy abuse survivors testify about torment during Baltimore archdiocese bankruptcy case

Thomas Michael Carney, 74, said he has no friends, “only acquaintances,” because the abuse he suffered as a child robbed him of his ability to trust, making close relationships difficult.

“I placed my trust in them. And then the pastor put his arm on my shoulder,” said Carney, describing how the abuse began.

Carney said he still suffers from nightmares stemming from his abuse by a priest at his family’s church and a religious teacher at his high school. One of his recurring dreams goes like this: He is a young boy at the church again. Something startles him and he approaches the altar to see the priest. The pastor begins throwing fireballs as he turns into Satan.

“This is about loss,” Carney said. “What was lost that day was my life.”

During her testimony Monday, Lancaster spoke about the torment she suffered decades ago at the former Seton Keough High School in Southwest Baltimore.

Maskell would call her to his office over the public announcement speaker system, she recalled. Within five minutes of their first “meeting,” Lancaster testified, Maskell was abusing her and justifying his actions by saying they were “godly.”

She told the court she believes the archdiocese — and then-Cardinal William Keeler in particular — knew that Maskell had been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse before assigning him to his post at the school. The archdiocese has denied this charge.

Maskell, whose conduct was central to the 2017 Netflix docuseries "The Keepers," is probably the most notorious of the many priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. At least 39 people have reported that they or someone they know suffered abuse at his hands during his 30-year career in the Maryland church. Many, including Lancaster, have alleged that he plied them with alcohol, raped them, carried a gun and threatened to shoot victims if they told. They’ve also said he “shared” them with other men, including priests and Baltimore police officers.

Maskell, who always maintained his innocence, was removed from the ministry in 1994 and died in 2001.

Lancaster said her grades dropped following her abuse. She ended up marrying young and having children, temporarily giving up on previous childhood dreams. After decades of tumult, she earned a law degree at age 50. She said she blames the abuse for disrupting her life course.

“Child sexual abuse is soul murder,” Lancaster said.

_____