Youngstown, Ohio, Sep 5, 2018 / 12:55 pm (CNA).- The Diocese of Youngstown will release a list of priests who were credibly accused of sexual abuse and removed from ministry, Bishop George Murry SJ announced during a press conference on Tuesday. The Diocese of Youngstown is located in northeast Ohio.
Murry indicated that the list will be compiled over the next few weeks, before eventually being released to the public.
“During the next two months, we will bring together all of those names in one place and publish them on the diocesan website,” he said. He encouraged anyone who has been abused to share their story with the diocesan victim assistance coordinator.
Murry said that during his tenure in Youngstown, whenever a priest had been removed from public ministry after being accused of sexual abuse, any parish or school where the priest had worked was notified. Anyone who may have been abused by said priest, or knew of someone who had been abused, was asked to come forward and notify the bishop.
In addition to the creation of the public list of offenders, Murry said that the diocese is open to Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains reviewing diocesan files on priests who were accused of sexual abuse or misconduct, and that he will speak to prosecutors in the other counties in the diocese for their assistance as well.
Murry was installed as the bishop of Youngstown in March 2007. Prior to this, he was bishop of St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands. He was ordained a priest in 1979.
Tuesday marked Murry’s first public appearance following a diagnosis of acute myeloid lukemia in April. Since his diagnosis, he has undergone chemotherapy treatments and said he is “100 percent cancer-free.” At the press conference, Murry thanked the diocese for their thoughts and prayers.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Bravo. Every diocese should be doing the same.
Speaking from the neighboring Diocese of Cleveland, I have found Bishop Murry to be an outstanding servant of Jesus and of the Church. He is truly pastoral. I am delighted to learn His Excellency is recovering from his illness, and that he is taking positive and sensible action in the current crisis. God bless Bishop Murry and all our good neighbors in the Youngstown Diocese.
This scandal will take decades to ‘straighten out’ and centuries to recover from.
God help us.
“In addition to the creation of the public list of offenders…”
*********
I’m glad that the safety of parishoners is being taken seriously but I have some mixed feelings about all this. A public list of “offenders” suggests convictions. If a member of the clergy was convicted in a court of law, fine. They’re an offender. But being accused, even “credibly” does not an offender make. At least not legally.