Survivors protest Quincy mayor over church sex scandal comments

QUINCY, Mass. — At Quincy City Hall on Friday, a group of survivors and advocates turned out to protest Mayor Thomas Koch over his recent public statements about the Catholic Church sex scandal.

This week, the long-time Quincy Mayor, who is Catholic, told WBZ News Radio NightSide host Dan Rea he believed the Church Crisis was connected to homosexuality and that the Church was being unfairly targeted in the media.

“It was mostly homosexual issues, not pedophilia,” Koch said. “The Church was not very popular with the secular media, so they took a beating.”

“When I first heard it, I was sick to my stomach,” survivor Francis Michael Sullivan said.

Sullivan tells me he was abused by a Catholic priest in 1970, when he was 11 years old

“It just brings back a lot of memories, flashbacks in my head when I was abused,” he said.

Robert Hoatson from the advocacy group Road to Recovery is a former Catholic priest based in New Jersey.

At City Hall, he told me he believes the Mayor’s comments linking homosexuality to the church scandal hurt survivors.

“It’s very insensitive to the LGBTQ+ community. And it’s very insulting to the victims of the Catholic Church who are still trying to get justice,” Hoatson said.

Mayor Koch also serves on the MBTA Board of Directors. Boston 25 reached out to the MBTA and the Governor’s office, and has not heard back.

But, in a statement, Mayor Koch apologized, saying in part:

“I know better and will do better. I am proud of my faith, and the essence of that faith is to love one another and not judge – my words failed that standard here.”

I asked victim Francis Sullivan what he thought of the Mayor’s apology.

“I don’t think much of it. I think he is apologizing because he’s probably in trouble,” he said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group