Wilmington Catholic diocese releases list of accused priests

Wilmington Catholic diocese releases list of accused priests

DOVER,Del. (AP) - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington has released thenames of 20 priests against whom it received substantiated allegationsof child sexual abuse.

Thelist of names was printed in the Nov. 16 edition of the diocese'sweekly newspaper, The Dialog. It includes eight living priests accusedof abusing minors in the diocese, and two others who ministered in thediocese but were accused of abuse elsewhere.

Ofthe 20 priests listed, the names of 10 had previously been releasedpublicly, either by the diocese or by the media, church officials said.The list includes only the names of priests employed by the diocese,not those employed by religious orders.

Onlya small number of U.S. dioceses have released the names of accusedpriests. Advocates for victims have been demanding that more diocesesdo so, to encourage other victims to come forward and to warn thepublic about any predators in their midst.

BishopMichael Saltarelli said in a letter accompanying the list that hereleased the names after extensive consultation with the DiocesanReview Board, a mostly lay panel formed to comply with the 2002 U.S.bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

Saltarellisaid the recent arrest of the Rev. Francis G. DeLuca in Syracuse, N.Y.,was a factor in his decision. DeLuca, 77, was arrested last month andcharged with sexually abusing a Syracuse boy for several years,beginning when he was about 12.

DeLucawas removed from the ministry in Delaware in 1993 and allowed to returnto his hometown after church officials in Wilmington learned ofcredible sex abuse claims against him dating to the 1960s.

"Iam deeply troubled, and profoundly regret, that a priest of thisdiocese, removed from ministry so many years ago, has once againsexually abused a minor," Saltarelli wrote.

Saltarellisaid that by disclosing the names and locations of other living priestswith substantiated allegations against them, "we perhaps in some waymay help prevent or deter any further incidents."