Harrisburg, Other Pa. Catholic Dioceses Should Release Lists of Accused Child Molester Priests | Editorial

By PennLive Editorial Board
PennLive
April 6, 2018

http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2018/04/harrisburg_other_pa_catholic_d.html

To say the Catholic Church has suffered from something of a credibility and transparency gap when it comes to dealing with allegations of clergy sexual abuse is the mildest of understatements.

Still, activists and survivors of clerical abuse have been unremitting in their call for local dioceses to release the names of priests accused of sexually abusing children.

They correctly argue that such a move would increase transparency, help victims to heal, and prevent abusers from living anonymously among unsuspecting families.

Disappointingly, most Catholic dioceses have declined to release such lists, furthering an atmosphere of distrust.

On Friday, however, officials in the Erie Catholic dioceses threw open the church doors and let the sun shine in, publishing a list of 34 priests and 17 lay people who are facing credible accusations of sexual abuse or inappropriate behavior.

It's the first time the diocese has revealed the names of those accused of abuse, The Associated Press reported.

The move comes as a grand jury run by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office investigates how the diocese and five others in Pennsylvania have handled misconduct allegations against priests, the AP reported.

Bishop Lawrence Persico told The Associated Press on Friday that the list is different from those released at other dioceses because it includes lay people also credibly accused of inappropriate behavior or abuse.

Twenty of the priests and two of they lay people on the Erie list are deceased.

The action by Erie also comes in the wake of a similar decision by officials in the Buffalo, N.Y. dioceses to publish their own list of priests accused of misconduct. That list included priests who retired, died or left the ministry after allegations surfaced.

As PennLive's Christine Vendel writes the move by Erie has prompted other Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania to grapple with whether they, too, should create a public list, and which priests would make the cut.

These lists can cover a wide range of possibilities including any priest ever accused by anyone to including only priests who have been criminally prosecuted.

The five other dioceses under grand jury investigation offered mixed responses when PennLive asked them whether they planned to release lists.

In Harrisburg, officials said they planned to revisit a 2016 pledge to release names that was initially waved off by the Attorney General's Office, which is running the grand jury probe.

Officials in Allentown told PennLive that had no plans to publish a list. But the diocese does notify parishioners, and issues a news release when a priest is removed from ministry for allegations of sexual abuse.

Diocesan officials in Pittsburgh said they had no plans to publish a list.

Officials in Scranton said they had no plans to publish a list, but did plan to hew to a policy of "parishioners as well as civil authorities all instances where clerics were removed from or left ministry due to allegations of child sexual abuse."

In light of the Erie news, diocesan officials in Greensburg said they'd await instruction from the Attorney General's office before deciding whether to publish a list.

There's really only one correct answer in this case. Parishioners and victims deserve full transparency. The remaining dioceses should decide on parameters and release the list of accused priests and lay people, where applicable.

Anything else is a half-measure.

Otherwise, the church, as an institution, will continue to deserve the distrust engendered by this ongoing scandal.

Contact: penned@pennlive.com