Former Rockville Centre Auxiliary Bishop Richard Henning is being promoted to head the Boston Archdiocese.

This is a concerning and foreboding move. It foreshadows continued legal hardball against scores of brave, wounded abuse victims by callous church officials in that diocese.

Rockville Centre, using the bankruptcy system, has a long and disturbing history with clergy sex crimes and cover-ups, marked by delay, deceit, denial, and obstruction that has caused even more harm to the scores of already-suffering victims in that troubled diocese.

While Henning was in a position of power in Rockville Centre, its Jones Day lawyers and the bishop were highly aggressive, oppressive,  and harshly challenging many survivors’ abuse reports and revictimizing them while delaying justice, closure, and healing.

Henning’s colleagues in Rockville Centre rank as the most manipulative and exploitive Catholic institutions to file for Chapter 11 in the country. For those who care about survivors, children, and truth-telling, this development is distressing.