STEUBENVILLE (OH)
The Associated Press
September 26, 2018
By Mark Gillispie and John Seewer
The Diocese of Steubenville plans to release its list of priests who have been removed from parishes because of sexual abuse and misconduct allegations by the end of October, The Associated Press has learned.
The decision by the Steubenville diocese, the smallest in Ohio with 34,000 members, comes in the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report that listed the names of more than 300 priests and outlined the details of sexual abuse allegations.
Steubenville diocesan officials and attorneys will review files dating back to the formation of the diocese in 1944, spokesman Dino Orsatti said. He estimated that a list would include between 12 and 20 names.
Orsatti said Tuesday that Bishop Jeffrey Monforton wants the list released in the interest of transparency and accountability.
“He would welcome any investigation like the one in Pennsylvania,” Orsatti said.
The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops approved a zero-tolerance policy called the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002 in the midst of a national scandal over the church’s failure to address and, in some cases cover up, sexual abuse and misconduct by priests. The policy required dioceses to alert authorities when they learned of abuse allegations, conduct their own investigations and remove accused priests from their duties during such reviews.
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