Texas bishops take a step toward transparency in the Catholic Church

FORT WORTH (TX)
Star-Telegram

February 8, 2019

By Cynthia M. Allen

Last week, the Roman Catholic Bishops of Texas did something rather unprecedented. They made public a list of clergy credibly accused of sexual misconduct.

The list spans eight decades, covers 15 dioceses and contains nearly 300 names. Some of the clerics identified have been defrocked; others have served jail time (although many have not, as the term “credibly accused” suggests a lower standard than that employed by law enforcement); far more are deceased. The details offered about the accused are often scant — just their names, those of the parishes they served and their dates of service are included.

For some Catholics and abuse survivors, the release was a tremendous letdown. Paul Petersen, a spokesman in Dallas for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called the total number of names released “crazy low.”

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