Cardinal Wilton Gregory clears Black deacon accused of child sex abuse in Maryland

Lawrence Bell, a Black Catholic deacon in Maryland accused of sexually abusing a child decades ago, has been cleared by the Archdiocese of Washington to return to ministry. He was named in a civil action filed by an anonymous party in October 2023.

Cardinal Wilton Gregory announced the news on July 17 in a letter to parishioners at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, noting that all canonical and civil procedures were properly followed in the investigation.

“After careful review and consultation, I have not seen any evidence that supports the allegations made in the John Doe lawsuit,” he wrote. “Accordingly, I have made the determination to lift the precautionary restrictions that had been placed on Monsignor Mellone and Deacon Bell, effective immediately.”

The decision is the latest development in a yearlong saga involving the Maryland Child Victims Act, a controversial new law in Maryland that temporarily allowed alleged victims of child sex abuse to file civil claims beyond the statute of limitations. 

Bell was accused of abuse dating to the 1990s at St. Martin's, where he continued to minister at the time of the lawsuit. He was suspended from ministry by Gregory immediately upon receipt of the allegations.

The case, filed in Prince George's County Circuit Court, concerned neglect on the part of the archdiocese. It was part of a class action suit against the archdiocese even as it resisted implementation of the Maryland Child Victims Act, which it says is unconstitutional. Lawyers for the chancery filed a countersuit this year in an attempt to void the law, a case which will soon be heard before the Maryland Supreme Court.

“They believe that there was a statute in 2017 that gave them a vested right not to be subject to any lawsuits,” the defendants’ attorney Robert Jenner told WYPR this week. 

“The question is whether that is accurate. In other words, can a legislature change a law that a subsequent legislature has decided is not in the best interest of Maryland citizens?”

The archdiocese says there was no criminal complaint filed in the case of Bell and Msgr Michael Mellone, who worked with him at St. Martin’s during the time of the alleged abuse. Additional complaints in the original civil lawsuit concerned the defrocked priest Robert J. Petrella and an unnamed priest.

Maryland is one of several jurisdictions where new lawsuits alleging child sex abuse were or are allowed beyond the statute of limitations, which in Maryland is typically three years. Other states with similar lookback windows include New York, California, and Louisiana. At least one Catholic diocese in each of those states has recently filed for bankruptcy, including the Archdiocese of Baltimore last year.

The Archdiocese of Washington, whose territory includes the District of Columbia and portions of Southern Maryland, faced up to $1.5 million in damages per claim. The deadline to submit new complaints passed at the end of May.

Bell’s return to ministry ultimately comes as the civil lawsuit involving him remains open, though now on appeal before the Maryland Supreme Court, which agreed in June to hear the case. Cardinal Gregory has not ruled out that restrictions could again be put in place on Bell and Mellone.

“Both men may return to active ministry,” he wrote in his letter to St. Martin’s. “This matter could be revisited in the future if the circumstances change or if new information becomes available that would necessitate further review.”

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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