Harrisburg Diocese Releases List of Accused Priests, Lifts Confidentiality Agreements

WGAL News 8
August 2, 2018

https://www.wgal.com/article/harrisburg-diocese-to-hold-news-conference-ahead-of-grand-jury-report-release/22612094

Harrisburg Diocese Bishop Ronald Gainer announced the release of vast amounts of information, previously withheld from the public, having to do with the sexual abuse of children by priests.

Among the information being released are the names of 71 priests, deacons and others within the church who were accused of abuse since the 1940s. Gainer said he thought it was appropriate to release the names, but emphasized that these are just accusations. The list has been posted on a new website just launched by the diocese on Wednesday.

The list says in part:

"The following list does not contain those cases where the accusation was deemed not substantiated, meaning it was an accusation after which, after review by law enforcement or Diocesan reviewers, was not supported by sufficient evidence to establish the probability that the accused cleric or seminarian committed sexual abuse of a child."

Gainer also announced that the diocese will waive any confidentiality rights that were reached as part of civil settlements. He said they were being waived because many victims felt constrained by those agreements.