JOLIET (IL)
CBS 2
(CBS) The Diocese of Joliet has posted on its Web site the names of priests who have been accused – with credible or substantiated allegations – of sexually abusing minors while the priests were serving in the diocese.
Posting the names might encourage people who think they might have been abused to come forward, said Joliet diocesan spokesman Thomas E. Kerber.
Bishop Joseph Imesch announced in March plans to release the priests’ names.
"We have taken this step in the hope of further facilitating healing and closure for those who have been affected by the tragedy of sexual abuse of a minor,” Imesch said in a letter to parishioners.
Imesch also apologized in the letter for his handling of a sexual abuse case that allegedly took place in the diocese in the 1960s.