BishopAccountability.org
	Delaware Diocese Releases List of Suspected Pedophile Priests Associated Press, carried in FoxNews [Delaware] November 16, 2006 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230048,00.html Dover, Delaware — A Catholic diocese on Thursday released the names of 20 priests who had been accused of child sexual abuse, including 10 names that had not previously been released publicly. The list was printed in Thursday's edition of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington's weekly newspaper, The Dialog, after one former priest was arrested last month in his New York state hometown and accused of sexually abusing a boy there. In a letter accompanying the list, Bishop Michael Saltarelli said that by disclosing the priests' names and locations, "we perhaps in some way may help prevent or deter any further incidents." The list includes eight priests accused of abusing minors in the diocese and two others who ministered in the diocese but were accused of abuse elsewhere. Saltarelli said he released the names after extensive consultation with the Diocesan Review Board, a panel formed to comply with the 2002 U.S. bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. Saltarelli said the recent arrest of the Rev. Francis G. DeLuca in Syracuse, New York, was a factor in his decision. DeLuca, 77, was arrested last month and accused of sexually abusing a Syracuse boy for several years. DeLuca was removed from the ministry in Delaware in 1993 and allowed to return to his hometown after church officials in Wilmington learned of credible sexual abuse allegations against him dating to the 1960s. All of these living priests on the list were removed from ministry between 1985-2003, Saltarelli wrote.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.