Victims group wants 2 more clergy added to Columbus diocese’s sex-abuse list

By Danae King
Columbus Dispatch
March 25, 2019

https://bit.ly/2TxrXPF

The offices of the The Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus on E. Broad St. Photo by Doral Chenoweth III

An advocacy group for survivors says two more names should be added to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus’ list of “credibly accused” clergy.

Judy Jones, Midwest regional director for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said Monday that two Paulist Fathers who served in Columbus are on the religious order’s list but not the Columbus Diocese’s list, released on March 1. The diocese list includes 36 clergy members, including some who served in the Columbus diocese but were accused while serving elsewhere. Paulist Fathers are priests who are members of the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle.

Last week, SNAP identified seven other clergy members who the group says should have been included on the Columbus list.

The two additional priests identified by SNAP — which it says brings the diocese’s omissions to nine — are:

• Stephan Leslie Johnson, who was ordained May 1981 and left the Paulist Fathers in July 1996. He served in the Columbus Diocese at the St. Thomas More Newman Center from 1991 to 1995, according to the Paulist Fathers’ list.

• Francis Michael Sweeney, who was ordained May 1961 and died in August 2013. He served in the Columbus Diocese at the St. Thomas More Newman Center from 1971 to 1972, according to the Paulist Fathers’ list.

“They need to be included on the diocese list because they could have sexually abused in Columbus while they were there,” SNAP’s Jones in an email.

Johnson, who lives in Delaware state, could not be reached by The Dispatch on Monday for comment.

When asked about the names provided by SNAP last week, Columbus diocesan spokesman George Jones said the list is subject to change and revision.