The New York Archdiocese released 120 names Friday of clergy members with sexual abuse or child pornography possession accusations.
The list includes the names of 53 members of the clergy who the archdiocese has determined are “credibly accused.” There are an additional eight men who are waiting for the church’s final determination. There are also 58 men facing accusations that don’t meet the church’s criteria for credibility but whose victims are still eligible for compensation.
None of the men on the list is in active ministry with the New York Archidiocese. The church defrocked some of them, while others are deceased.
This latest release comes from the country’s second-largest Roman Catholic archdiocese and after more than 120 other dioceses across the country released similar disclosures as the church contends with public demands for more transparency regarding clergy sex abuse.
In August, a Pennsylvania grand jury investigation revealed the “horrifying scale” of clergy sexual abuse. The investigation documented 300 predatory priests and more than 1,000 victims over the course of nearly eight decades.
New York Archdiocese Compensation Program
The Catholic Church created the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program in 2016 to determine Catholic priest sexual abuse victim compensation. So far, more than 350 sexual abuse survivors have received compensation through the program.
The program’s review board determine credible accusations by identifying the presence of at least one of the following criteria:
- The accusation is substantiated and credible.
- The church laicized or permanently removed the priest from ministry as a result of the accusation.
- Admission of guilt by the accused or a criminal conviction in connection with the allegations.
- The accusations resulted in a civil settlement prior to the creation of the Compensation Program.
Interested parties can find the list of priests on the website for the New York Archdiocese.