The Archdiocese of New York on Friday released a list of 120 priests and deacons that it said had been credibly accused of sexual abuse or the possession of pornography, or whose behavior had led to compensation claims being paid. Checkey Beckford reports.
What to Know
- The Archdiocese of New York released a list of 120 priests credibly accused of sexual impropriety
- None are in active ministry; some were defrocked and some have died
- The archdiocese said three-quarters of those accused were ordained before 1969
The Archdiocese of New York on Friday released a list of 120 priests and deacons that it said had been credibly accused of sexual abuse or the possession of pornography, or whose behavior had led to compensation claims being paid.
The list, which can be read here, spans decades, with most of those accused ordained before 1969 and most of the alleged abuse occuring in the 1970s and 1980s. The vast majority of those on the list are dead.
"Note: No priest or deacon in @NY_Arch against whom a credible and substantiated claim of abuse of a minor has been made is currently in ministry," Cardinal Timothy Dolan tweeted in announcing the release of the list.
None of the priests on the list were ordained since the 2002 adoption of a charter on protecting children, the archdiocese said. (It did note that there were two credible allegations of abuse occurring after 2002, though.)
"Please join me in praying for peace and consolation for victim-survivors and their families," Dolan added on Twitter.
Of the 120 on the list, many were both removed from ministry and defrocked. One of those, Charles Kavanaugh, previously sued the archdiocese for libel after being defrocked. (His suit was ultimately dismissed.)
Local
Though most on the list were priests, it also includes a cardinal (the defrocked Theodore McCarrick), two bishops and five deacons.
The release by New York officials follows a similar, larger release by church officials in New Jersey in February. More than two dozen states have now released list of accused abuser priests.
But the New York list lacks some of the detail made public by other states; it does not, for example, list where each priest worked and when.
