Boston posts list of accused priests

It happened Thursday afternoon.  Details, from the Boston Globe.

Nearly 10 years after a worldwide clergy sexual abuse crisis erupted in the Boston Archdiocese, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley today released a long-awaited roster of 159 archdiocesan clerics who have been accused of sexually abusing children.

But O’Malley’s action was immediately criticized by Attorney General Martha Coakley and advocates for clergy abuse victims because it lists only those priests who have already been publicly accused, and omits the names of dozens of accused priests from religious orders and other dioceses, as well as those who left the priesthood before accusations were leveled againt them.

“Those names should be disclosed in the interest of the victims and public safety,” Coakley said. “While today was an important first step, we urge the leaders of the Archdiocese to complete this effort toward transparency and publicly disclose the names of those accused from other orders and those who were already laicized.”

O’Malley compiled his list after reviewing all of the abuse allegations in the files of the archdiocese, some going back as many as 70 years, Church officials said, in his most recent attempt to assure parishioners and the public that the Church is doing all in its power to protect children while assisting survivors of abusive clergy.

“The Archdiocese of Boston’s commitment and responsibility is to protect children and to ensure that the tragedy of sexual abuse is never repeated,” O’Malley said in a statement that accompanied a posting of the list on the official website of the archdiocese at 2 p.m. today.

O’Malley said he omitted the names of 91 additional accused archdiocesan priests, most of whom are dead and unable to answer the accusations leveled against them, as well as the names of priests from religious orders and other dioceses who have been accused of abusing children in the Boston area. Church officials said approximately 40 priests from religious orders and other dioceses have been accused of molesting children in the Boston area.

Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who represents clergy abuse victims, said the omissions are a disservice to victims.

“It’s disappointing that Cardinal O’Malley omitted the names of 91 additional accused archdiocesan priests since naming them would allow sexual abuse victims to try and heal and perhaps understand that they were not the only ones abused by a particular priest,” Garabedian said.

Read the rest.

For more, visit the website for the archdiocese.