71 US priests accused of sexually abusing children

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore has released the names of 71 priests accused of sexual harassment of children.

The archdiocese in the US state of Maryland released the names of the clergy men on their website, saying they faced “credible” accusations of sexual abuse.

The move was made as part of the fallout from the Boston Globe daily investigations portrayed in the Oscar-winning film Spotlight.

According to the archdiocese, the initiative was aimed at calling on victims of sexual harassment in US churches to speak up.

“The primary motivation in publicly disclosing an allegation is to encourage anyone else who may have been a victim of that individual to come forward,” archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine said. “We’ve heard from victim-survivors that one main obstacle is the sense that they’re alone. They’re the only one. They won’t be believed.”

With the priests exposed, other victims are “empowered to find out that other people have alleged against the same person,” Caine added.

Victims and advocates have demanded a permanent and updating list, he further noted.

In January, 57 names plus 14 more, named in press releases in the past 14 years, were exposed.

According to the Washington Post, “elsewhere, many dioceses do not have such a webpage, even if they might publicly disclose individual accusations of abuse when they are verified.”

Approximately 6,900 US Roman Catholic priests were accused of sexual abuse with at least 16,900 young victims between 1950 and 2011, according to data from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The US Catholic Church is facing severe financial difficulties over settlement payments to victims and other costs.

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