Scottish Catholic Observer

The Archdiocese of Baltimore has spoken out in light of a new Netflix documentary on the unsolved mystery of a murdered nun, reaffirming that it had no role in covering up her death.

The Keepers which airs on Friday May 19, reopens the case of American Sr Catherine Ann Cesnik, who at 26 years old was murdered sometime while running an errand on the evening of November 7, 1969, with her body discovered in a dump two months later.

A member of the schools of Sisters of Notre Dame from aged 18, Sr Cathy was on a leave of absence with fellow nun Sr Helen Russell Phillips, with both having moved into an apartment outside of the convent.

She previously taught English at Archbishop Seton Keough Catholic High School, and at Western Public High School.

Keough’s school chaplain, Fr A Joseph Maskell, was later accused of sexual assault and rape by former students at the school in the 1990s, before he was removed from ministry and fled the country in 1994. He was never charged before his death in 2001.

Some of Sr Cathy’s former pupils believe she knew about the accusations against him, and that Fr Maskell killed her and used his contacts to cover up the crime.

However, the archdiocese has denied speculation that there was a conspiracy to hide the truth behind Sr Cathy’s death or Fr Maskell’s crimes, and said it had no knowledge of the sexual abuse or his links to Sr Cathy until the 1990s.

“Suggestions of a cover-up by the archdiocese are speculative and false,” a spokesperson said in advance of the new series. “The Baltimore Sun has retracted its ‘errors’ for reporting that certain police supervisors suggested archdiocesan interference in 1969-70, since the people cited had actually retired before (sometimes years before) the relevant time frame.

“The Sun also noted the numerous police officials who stated they knew of no such interference. There is no suggestion that the archdiocese interfered in any way when the subsequent investigations were occurring in the 1990s.

“The archdiocese reported the initial sexual abuse allegation to the authorities in 1993, removed Maskell from ministry and held a public meeting in 1994, and has been transparent with an Independent Review Board since that time.”

The Baltimore Archdiocese declared that it would willingly respond to and answer questions from the producers of the series.

“Unfortunately, the producers asked very few questions of the archdiocese before releasing the series and did not respond to the archdiocese’s request to receive an advanced copy of the series,” a statement on the archdiocese’s website said.

It has also published responses to some of the most popular questions surrounding the case, and stressed the importance of sexual abuse screening, zero tolerance and prevention training for employees and volunteers.