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DOSSIER – In the archival photo of 12 November 2013, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, Bishop Michael Barber, Bishop at the center, listens to a presentation alongside other bishops at the meeting. 39th Autumn of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore. The Catholic Diocese of Oakland, California, has published the names of 45 priests, deacons and religious brothers who, according to authorities, are "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors. The San Francisco Chronicle says Monday that Oakland's list dates back to 1962, the year of the founding of the diocese. None of the men are currently in the ministry. Of the 45 people appointed, 20 were priests. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky, File)
OAKLAND, California – The Catholic Diocese of Oakland, California, has published the names of 45 priests, deacons and religious brothers who, according to authorities, are "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors.
The San Francisco Chronicle announced Monday that Oakland's list dates back to 1962, when the diocese was founded. None of the men are currently in the ministry. Of the 45 people appointed, 20 were priests.
Oakland is the latest in a series of dioceses across the country to publish names in a scandal involving pedophile priests and decades of church hiding.
Most of the abuses listed date from the 1960s to the 1980s. Diocesan officials claim that there have been no credible accusations of abuse since 1988, but acknowledge that the list could lengthen over the next few months.
"I pray that public recognition of the acts of sin committed by some priests will help many of us find healing and hope, restore our faith in the Church and repair the wrongs done. to the reputation of so many good priests, "Michael Barber, Bishop of Oakland, said in a letter.
The majority of appointees have already been identified through court filings or press articles. But five names have not been in the public domain so far, said Stephan Wilcox, Chancellor of the Diocese of Oakland.
Wilcox said the diocese saw this as a "living list".
"It's not" Oh, thank God we have the list. We finished. "It's now part of our process, and we know we still have work to do," he told the paper.
Wilcox stated that he had handed over the list of names and information to the Alameda County Attorney to determine whether lawsuits were warranted. In addition to the fact that many of the accused have died, Wilcox said that the statute of limitations could be a problem.
Wilcox said that he had spent several weeks contacting the survivors, but that he had not spoken to them yet at all.
"The survivors in general were satisfied with the pace, but still think that the church should do more," he said.
Some wanted a direct apology from the church and others said the diocese of Oakland needed to provide more services to the victims.
In October, a law firm prosecuting bishops for abuse published its own list of names of alleged abusers, totaling more than 200 clergy in the San Francisco Bay Area. The list of Jeff Anderson & Associates included more names of clergy than those published by the diocese of San Jose and 95 names related to the Diocese of Oakland, more than double the diocese's list.
Wilcox stated that the discrepancy lies in the standard used to qualify for a credible claim.
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