List of 31 Washington Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse Has Been Released

List of 31 D.C. Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse Has Been Released

List of 31 Washington Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse Has Been Released

McCarrick was not in the list due to a technicality.

A list of 31 clergymen “credibly accused” of the crime of abusing children has been released by Washington D.C.'s Catholic archdiocese.[/tweetit] This move comes only a few days after Pope Francis accepted Archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl's resignation for covering up multiple sexual abuse reports in the Catholic Church. The list documents show the earliest case was made in 1948 and the latest in 1996. A total of 18 priests were arrested during the intervening period, and 17 have died. None are active clergy.

List of 31 D.C. Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse Has Been Released[/tweetthis]

The list comes at a time when the archdiocese is enduring an upheaval. According to its authorities, allegations are treated as being credible in case the authenticity of the charges could not be determined. It said no new abuse allegations have been reported to the archdiocese during the last 20 years.

The list does not include Theodore McCarrick, the former Cardinal and Washington archbishop who was forced to submit his resignation in July after accusations of multiple sexual cases of abuse of adult students and even minors. McCarrick was not included in the list as he was then not a priest in the Washington archdiocese when the abuse allegedly happened.

Wuerl, now 77-years-old, resigned from his post on October 12 after it came to light that 300 predator priests were under his supervision. He was forced to do so after an increasing number of sexual assault survivors called for his resignation. A Pennsylvania grand jury authored a detailed 900 page long comprehensive report detailing the crimes of the 300 "predator" priests.

The report was graphic in its detail. It said Wuerl repeatedly transferred the abusive priests from one parish to another. The Cardinal failed to inform the leaders of those parishes about those priests. The situation was so bad that Josh Shapiro, the Attorney General of Pennsylvania described his conduct as an "abhorrent" one. Wuerl was asked to continue his service as archbishop until his successor gets appointed. The website of his archdiocese described the resignation as the beginning of "new chapter."

The month of June saw former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick resigning from his archbishop position on the pressure of sexual abuse allegations. It was found out that two New Jersey dioceses reached financial settlements with the priests who alleged that McCarrick abused them sexually when they were seminary students.

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