The Keepers Sister Cathy
Title: A painful, necessary reminder
Author: Most Rev. William E. Lori
Publisher: Archdiocese of Baltimore
In May, Netflix released a seven-part series called “The Keepers,” which details the efforts of a number of people to solve the 1969 murder of Sister Catherine Cesnik, S.S.N.D.
Sister Cathy, as she is known by many, had been a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School, which many of the individuals who are working today to help solve her murder attended. “The Keepers” relates that Sister Cathy was aware that students were being abused by a now-deceased priest, Joseph Maskell, who served as chaplain at Archbishop Keough, and suggests that her killing may have been related to what she knew about the abuse.
The docu-series is deeply troubling for many reasons, mostly because we hear first- hand the horrible accounts of the brave individuals who so courageously share the details of their abuse and the impact it has had on their lives. Their stories are gut- wrenching. And even though I have had the painful privilege of meeting with some of these survivors since coming to Baltimore more than five years ago, hearing them recount their horrific experiences in the series is no less powerful and emotional than doing so in person. Their stories are a distressing reminder of a dark chapter in the history of this local church and we continue to be remorseful for and ashamed of the actions of those few who committed such sinful and criminal acts while representing our church.
Sister Cathy, as she is known by many, had been a teacher at Archbishop Keough High School, which many of the individuals who are working today to help solve her murder attended. “The Keepers” relates that Sister Cathy was aware that students were being abused by a now-deceased priest, Joseph Maskell, who served as chaplain at Archbishop Keough, and suggests that her killing may have been related to what she knew about the abuse.
The docu-series is deeply troubling for many reasons, mostly because we hear first- hand the horrible accounts of the brave individuals who so courageously share the details of their abuse and the impact it has had on their lives. Their stories are gut- wrenching. And even though I have had the painful privilege of meeting with some of these survivors since coming to Baltimore more than five years ago, hearing them recount their horrific experiences in the series is no less powerful and emotional than doing so in person. Their stories are a distressing reminder of a dark chapter in the history of this local church and we continue to be remorseful for and ashamed of the actions of those few who committed such sinful and criminal acts while representing our church.
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