The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has posted online the names 159 priests and deacons who have been accused of child sexual abuse. The list was made public to assist survivors and protect children.
Another 91 sex abusers also faced some level of accusation including 62 dead priests who have not been publicly accused and 22, mostly still alive, who have not been publicly accused and could not be proved to have molested children.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley has also listed separately 25 priests who were publicly accused of molesting children but who were cleared, the claims being unsubstantiated.
The publication does not include photos.
“My deepest hope and prayer is that the efforts I am announcing today will provide some additional comfort and healing for those who have suffered from sexual abuse by clergy,” Cardinal O’Malley said in a letter.
O’Malley did not publish the names of clergy belonging to religious orders or other dioceses who were accused of sexual abuse while working in the Boston Archdiocese. In his view it was the responsibility of their orders or dioceses to do this.
Some victims’ groups commended O’Malley’s actions. However Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of bishopaccountability.org did not agree, saying her organisation believed there were at least 350 religious workers in Boston who have substantive abuse accusations against their name.
“If O’Malley’s goal were truly to reach as many victims as possible, and to protect as many children as possible, he would have released the longest possible list today,” Barrett Doyle said.
Attorney General Martha Coakley also faulted the list because it omits those who left the priesthood before accusations were leveled against them.
“Those names should be disclosed in the interest of the victims and public safety,” Coakley said.
O’Malley acknowledged some people wanted him to go further and release more names, but he cited concerns about due process, particularly when the parties were dead and or accused of decades-old crimes that were difficult to verify.
“In the present environment, a priest who is accused of sexually abusing a minor may never be able to fully restore his reputation, even if cleared after civil or canonical proceedings.”
“Having met with hundreds of survivors, I know firsthand the scars you carry.”
“I carry with me every day the pain of the Church’s failures,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley, who replaced Cardinal Bernard Law in 2003, has spent much of his time as archbishop trying to restore faith in a church rocked by the abuse scandal.
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