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Names Of 120 Priests Linked To Sex Abuse Released By NY Archdiocese

Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, recently released the names of 120 Catholic clergy members accused of child sexual abuse.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Photo Credit: File

"I write to ask forgiveness again for the failings of those clergy and bishops who should have provided for the safety of our young people but instead betrayed the trust placed in them by God and by the faithful," Dolan wrote in a Pastoral letter released along with the list.

Dolan when on to say the comprehensive list includes of "all archdiocesan clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors or who were the subject of a claim made to the archdiocese’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program that was determined to be eligible for compensation." 

None of the listed is still active in the ministry. Some have died and others were defrocked, the Archdiocese said. 

Several of those listed served in downstate New York, including the former president of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains John O'Keefe as well as Ralph LaBelle, who served as a priest in Putnam County at Sacred Heart in Patterson. 

Others include priests named included Gennaro Gentile. Kenneth Jesselli, and Albert Mazza, all who at some time worked or served at Holy Name of Mary in Croton-on-Hudson.

"Please be assured there is not a single priest or deacon of the Archdiocese of New York against whom there has been a credible and substantiated claim of abuse against a minor currently in ministry,"  Dolan added.

The compensation program was started in 2016 as a way to determine compensation for victims abuse. More than 350 individuals have been received compensation through the program, the Archdiocese said. 

Dolan also urged anyone with an allegation of abuse " to go immediately to the district attorney to report it."

For information on the program, contact the Victims Assistance Coordinator, Sister Eileen Clifford, at 646-794-2949 or via e-mail at victimsassistance@archny.org, or you can report at https://www.archny.org/report-a-complaint

To read the letter, or to see a complete list of the priest named, click here. 

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