To the Clergy, Religious, and Laity of the Archdiocese of Seattle, and to All Who Have Been Impacted by the Sinful Actions of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Clergy or Religious Brothers or Sisters:

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle
January 15, 2016

http://www.seattlearchdiocese.org/Assets/SEP/7042_ArchbishopsLetter.pdf

[full text]

My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I express my deepest apologies for the actions of those who were in positions of trust and who violated that sacred trust by abusing the vulnerable in their care. Our work in this area will not be complete until all those who have been harmed have received assistance in healing, and until the evil of child sexual abuse has been eradicated from society.

When I became Archbishop of Seattle in December, 2010, one of my first priorities was to familiarize myself with the issue of sexual abuse of minors perpetrated by clergy in the Archdiocese, and to learn what the historic response of the Archdiocese had been. I was pleased to learn that the Archdiocese of Seattle was one of the first in the country to publicly acknowledge the devastating impact of this abuse, and to discover that the Archdiocese had undertaken significant efforts in training, prevention, and response to victim survivors since the mid 1980’s.

It has been my firm commitment to build on the good efforts of the past and continue to improve upon them. To that end, and after consultation with the members of the Archdiocesan Review Board, I am publishing a list of clergy and religious brothers and sisters for whom allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been admitted, established, or determined to be credible. These are individuals known to have served or resided in the Archdiocese. This action is being taken in the interest of further transparency and accountability, and to continue to encourage victims of sexual abuse by clergy to come forward.

Our vigilance, training and prevention efforts are ongoing and continually seeking improvement. We have responded to hundreds of survivors of abuse who have come forward, and I thank them for their courage. I personally encourage any survivors who have not previously come forward to do so by contacting our Pastoral Outreach Coordinator who may be reached at 800-446-7762.