Diocese of Youngstown will release names of accused priests

Youngstown, Ohio, Sep 5, 2018 / 12:55 pm (CNA).- The Diocese of Youngstown will release a list of priests who were credibly accused of sexual abuse and removed from ministry, Bishop George Murry SJ announced during a press conference on Tuesday. The Diocese of Youngstown is located in northeast Ohio.

Murry indicated that the list will be compiled over the next few weeks, before eventually being released to the public.

“During the next two months, we will bring together all of those names in one place and publish them on the diocesan website,” he said. He encouraged anyone who has been abused to share their story with the diocesan victim assistance coordinator.

Murry said that during his tenure in Youngstown, whenever a priest had been removed from public ministry after being accused of sexual abuse, any parish or school where the priest had worked was notified. Anyone who may have been abused by said priest, or knew of someone who had been abused, was asked to come forward and notify the bishop.

In addition to the creation of the public list of offenders, Murry said that the diocese is open to Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains reviewing diocesan files on priests who were accused of sexual abuse or misconduct, and that he will speak to prosecutors in the other counties in the diocese for their assistance as well.

Murry was installed as the bishop of Youngstown in March 2007. Prior to this, he was bishop of St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands. He was ordained a priest in 1979.

Tuesday marked Murry’s first public appearance following a diagnosis of acute myeloid lukemia in April. Since his diagnosis, he has undergone chemotherapy treatments and said he is “100 percent cancer-free.” At the press conference, Murry thanked the diocese for their thoughts and prayers.