DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa.– At a press conference today, the Diocese of Harrisburg announced that they will waive the gag orders in a child sex abuse investigation and release a list of names of those accused of abuse.
Here’s the full list:
Here is the statement released from Bishop Gainer on child sexual abuse:
FOX43’s Jack Eble was at today’s press conference, which you can view here:
Of the 71 names included on the list:
- 37 were priests of the Diocese of Harrisburg
- 3 were deacons of the Diocese of Harrisburg
- 6 were seminarians of the Diocese of Harrisburg
- 9 were clergy members from other dioceses
- 16 were from religious communities
- 42 of those named are now dead
- 3 names are unaccounted for
The Office of Attorney General issued the following statement in response to a news conference today by the Diocese of Harrisburg.
“It is long past due for the Diocese of Harrisburg to make public the names of predator priests within the Catholic Church,” said Joe Grace, spokesman for Attorney General Shapiro. “Their proclamations today only come after intense public pressure and in the face of the imminent release of the Grand Jury report exposing decades of child abuse and cover up.”
“Per last week’s Supreme Court Order, this month the Office of Attorney General will publish an honest and comprehensive accounting of widespread sexual abuse by more than 300 priests in six Pennsylvania dioceses.”
“To this point, the Diocese of Harrisburg has been adverse to transparency and has not been cooperative. A now public opinion by the judge supervising the Grand Jury last year made it clear they sought to end the investigation entirely.”
“The true test of the Diocese’s commitment to victims of abuse and reforms within the Church will be their actions following the release of the report. Attorney General Shapiro has consistently called for the elimination of the criminal statute of limitations and reforms to the civil statute to give all victims the opportunity to obtain justice in a court of law.”
If you or someone you know needs to report abuse, follow the instructions on the below graphic to report it to the proper authorities:
