HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on a Pennsylvania bishop’s decision to release the names of 71 priests and others in his Roman Catholic diocese alleged to have sexually abused children (all times local):
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5:20 p.m.
A Pennsylvania state lawmaker who was sexually abused by a priest as a boy is praising the Harrisburg bishop’s release of the names of 71 priests and others accused of child abuse and says he hopes the bishop will support changes to the state’s statute of limitations.
Berks County Democratic Rep. Mark Rozzi calls the public release a step toward transparency.
Bishop Ronald Gainer issued a public apology Wednesday for the abuse and said the dioceses’ prior bishops didn’t adequately respond to all the allegations.
Rozzi says the state’s Catholic hierarchy has resisted loosening the time limits on suing over abuse or filing criminal charges.
Gainer’s release of the list comes a few days after a court order is expected to soon make public a grand jury investigation into clergy child sexual abuse.
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11:10 a.m.
The Roman Catholic diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has put out a list of 71 priests and others in the church accused of sexually abusing children in cases going back decades.
Bishop Ron Gainer issued a public apology Wednesday for the abuse and said the church’s bishops shared the blame, having responded inadequately to all the allegations.
As a result, the name of every bishop since 1947 will be removed from church facilities in the diocese.
The Harrisburg Diocese issued its findings just days after the state Supreme Court said a nearly 900-page grand jury report on sex abuse in six dioceses, including Harrisburg, can be made public later this month.
Harrisburg is now the second diocese to get ahead of the grand jury report. The Erie Diocese in April identified more than 50 priests and lay people accused of child sexual abuse.
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