Diocese in D.C. lists 31 priests credibly accused
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington released a list Monday of 31 priests its says have been credibly accused of abuse since 1948, noting in a letter to clergy that the move is “a necessary step toward full transparency and accountability and the process of healing.”
The letter says the list includes the names of all priests credibly accused in the past 70 years. It includes 28 priests of the archdiocese and three priests not based in the archdiocese but who worked in its schools or parishes. The three were members of religious orders or independent communities.
It says there are no archdiocesan priests in active ministry who have faced a credible allegation of abuse of a minor, and that “there has not been an incident of abuse of a minor by a priest of the archdiocese in almost two decades.” It does not say how recently accusers came forward, how many victims of the priests there are, nor whether the cases were taken to civil authorities.
Some of the cases have been well-publicized; others have not.
Eighteen of the 31 were arrested, 13 never were. Of those 13, five were listed in a publicly searchable database of accused priests.
The letter comes amid huge turmoil in a part of the U.S. church that had seemed to have evaded the abuse crisis. But in June, the previous archbishop — Theodore McCarrick, a popular figure in the U.S. church — was suspended amid allegations that he abused children and adults. He later resigned.
Four days ago, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, a top ally of Pope Francis, retired after months of criticism that he had mishandled abuse allegations when he was in the Pittsburgh diocese and hasn’t been completely transparent in District of Columbia, either.
The U.S. has 196 Catholic dioceses or archdioceses, according to the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. More than 50 have in recent years published lists of accused priests, said Terry McKiernan, whose site BishopAccountability.org advocates for publication of such lists.
Even when the accused priests are deceased or removed from ministry, it can still be psychologically powerful for victims to see the names published, Mr. McKiernan said Monday.
“There’s enormous value for a survivor in knowing that his or her perpetrator abused someone else. It’s a sad fact, but it’s a validating fact,” he said.
The publication of such lists frequently spurs other victims, abused decades ago, to report their abuse for the first time.
In Pennsylvania, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said last week that the state’s grand jury report listing more than 300 accused priests has prompted 1,272 phone calls to a state-run clergy abuse hotline since its publication in August. Previously, the hotline got 300 calls in a two-year time span, he said. Some of the new reports might lead to criminal prosecutions.