The Salina Diocese oversees Manhattan’s Catholic churches. Of the 14 people named, three of the accused priests had served in Manhattan.

One of them, Monsignor William Merchant, was the superintendent of the Catholic schools here in the mid-1950s to late 1960s. According to a firsthand account from three men who were students at that time, Merchant molested and sexually assaulted them and others while he was overseeing the schools.

“In our collective opinion, Msgr. Merchant’s avocation was masquerading as a Catholic priest while pursuing his true vocation as an aggressive sexual predator,” they wrote, as part of the report.

To learn of such incidents even all these years later is heart-wrenching for our community and especially for the faithful. Parishioners put their trust in these men, and that trust imbues them with power. Some abuse that power.

Over the last decade or so, we’ve learned that across the country, sexual abuse among the clergy is not just a rare anomaly; it’s a disease, an epidemic. The cases now number in the thousands over the last 50 years. That’s appalling.

And yet there is a bright spot in this story. Bishop Gerald Vincke, who oversees the Salina Diocese, was new to the job last fall when he decided to hire an outside investigator, turn over the findings to authorities and publish a list of names. Furthermore, he has welcomed any other victims to come forward.

Bishop Vincke ought to be applauded for being proactive and transparent. We hope more church leaders will follow suit.

The Catholic Church has a history of covering up abuse by clergy members. And at this point, it can’t stay mum on the topic without being complicit, either. If it doesn’t help bring these abuses to light and administer swift, severe punishment, it will never be able to eradicate them.