Ogdensburg Diocese Releases List of Priests Accused of Sex Abuse, Joining National Trend

By Julie McMahon
Syracuse.com
November 15, 2018

https://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2018/11/ogdensburg_diocese_releases_list_of_priests_accused_of_sex_abuse_joining_nationa.html

The Diocese of Ogdensburg this week released the names of priests accused of child sex abuse, joining a trend nationwide.

The diocese named 28 priests, 16 of whom have died. Officials said all of the living priests had been removed or left ministry.

Those named were the subject of a finding "of reasonable grounds" that they had engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor or vulnerable adult, according to the diocese.

The Ogdensburg diocese joins 75 other dioceses across the country that have released the names of abusive priests, according to a count by the law firm Anderson & Associates, which represents victims nationwide.

A quick Google search shows that new dioceses every day are releasing names.

That leaves 120 dioceses or archdioceses in the U.S. that have refused to list the identities of sexually abusive priests.

With Ogdensburg's latest release, three dioceses in New York state continue to refuse to release the names.

In Syracuse, Bishop Robert Cunningham has said he will not release a list. Cunningham's policy is to confirm the names once a victim makes it public.

According to a statement from the diocese, Cunningham has received requests from victims that their abusers not be named.

"To respect the wishes of all victims, Bishop Cunningham has provided the names to local authorities and has confirmed the names of those with a credible complaint of abuse of a minor if brought forth publicly by the victim," the statement said.

The New York State Attorney General is launched a probe in September into all eight dioceses in the state, seeking information about whether church officials knew about and covered up sexual abuse by clergy.

The investigation came after a nearly two-year grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania that led to a report detailing sex abuse by more than 300 priests over seven decades.

The following priests were named by the Ogdensburg diocese:

Fay Ager

Joseph Conti (deceased)

Joseph Degen (deceased)

Robert Duford (deceased)

John Fallon (deceased)

Ronald Farchette

Bruce Favreau

Edward Franklin (deceased)

Theodore Gillette (deceased)

John Hunt (deceased)

Edwin Kennedy (deceased)

John Kennedy (deceased)

Emile Lalonde (deceased)

James Larche

Roger Martin (deceased)

Gerald McGrath (deceased)

Roland Menard

Liam O'Doherty

Albert Plante (deceased)

Gerald Sharland (deceased)

Robert Shurtleff

Thomas Squires

George Tobin (deceased)

Michael Toth

Clark White

John Wiley (deceased)

David Wisniewski