Diocese must work to honor its promise

In one sense, last Tuesday ranks as one of the darkest days in the 75-year history of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. On that day, Bishop George V. Murry and other church leaders released a long-awaited list of 34 names of priests and other church authorities who have been credibly accused of the most horrid and heinous of crimes: sexually abusing minor children.

In another sense, however, Tuesday rose as the dawn of a new day for the six-county diocese as the results of the investigation could pave the way for a cleansing of some of the many stains the long-standing sex-abuse scandal have left on the Catholic church.

To be sure, however, the report does not bring full closure to the abominable abuse scandal. The deep psychological wounds of dozens of young children who were victimized at the hands of those on the list even decades ago will continue to fester.

For the broader church, the report at last lets in a few rays of hope, healing, transparency and accountability in openly acknowledging the many years of aberrant behavior on the part of priests who committed the unseemly acts and on the part of some church leaders who covered up abusive acts.

Indeed, we were impressed by the sincere candor with which Bishop Murry, leader of the diocese, addressed the sins of the church at his news conference.

“We have to do something to ensure, always, that children are protected,” he said. “Our promise to our people is that this doesn’t happen again.

That is a promise that Bishop Murry and others throughout the diocese must work tirelessly to keep.

They can start by filling in the many blanks left on the list of accused abusers released last week. We therefore hold the church to its pledge that it would release that detailed information - even against the recommendations of diocesan attorneys who fear it might open floodgates of new accusations . ...