Omaha archdiocese: 38 clergy accused of sex abuse since ’78
OMAHA, NEB. — The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha released a list Friday of 38 priests and other clergy members who have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct after the state’s top prosecutor requested the information.
The archdiocese said 24 of the priests were under its control when the allegations surfaced, but that all of those men have since died or been removed from the clergy. At least two men on the list were convicted and served prison sentences for molesting children. The archdiocese said the allegations date back to 1956, but no cases were reported before 1978. Reports on 10 other visiting priests and four deacons were also submitted.
“We acknowledge this report with sorrow, and know that it will cause a great deal of pain,” Omaha Archbishop George Lucas said in a written statement. “We’re deeply saddened so many innocent minors and young adults were harmed by the church’s ministers. To victims and their families, I am sorry for the pain, betrayal and suffering you have experienced in the church.”
The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office requested the reports in August, shortly after a Pennsylvania grand jury report estimated that hundreds of priests in Pennsylvania molested more than 1,000 children since the
1940s and that senior church officials covered up the abuse.
A spokesperson for Nebraska’s attorney general did not immediately answer questions from The Associated Press on Friday about whether it had seen the Omaha archdiocese’s list or whether it had received similar requested reports from the state’s other two Catholic dioceses.
Lucas said no one currently serving in the archdiocese’s ministry has been the subject of a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse against a young person. The archdiocese has 132 active priests and 215 active deacons.
He acknowledged failures by church leaders and promised transparency moving forward.
Of the 38 clergy names submitted, the archdiocese said 34 had offended before 2002