WASHINGTON
Sky Valley Chronicle
[letter of apology from the archbishop]
[list of the accused]
(SEATTLE, WA.) — There it is in plain but rather stunning language nonetheless on the home page of the Seattle Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church: “Archdiocese disclose names of child sex abusers.”
A pubic statement that just 10 years ago would not have seemed possible from a church seemingly under siege all over the country and in foreign lands over the issue of sex abuse by Catholic priests against male and female children, teens and women.
For years, according to numerous court documents filed in a landmark Boston case that has since been made into a movie, the church seemed to do its best to keep such things hidden from public view, to keep them under wraps.
Cases of alleged abuse were routinely settled out of court for money and a promise from the plaintiff not to say anything. The priests involved or suspected to have engaged in sexual abuse were shuttled from parish to parish with no warning to members of the next parish what kind of person was coming in to their lives and communities.
But that was then. Before the Boston case blew wide open and shocked an entire nation. That was before a new Pope took the helm of the church and is committed to rooting out abusers and being above board in attempting to deal with cases of suspected sex abuse by priests.
A statement posted on the Seattle Archdiocese website reads:
“Anyone who has knowledge of sexual abuse or misconduct by a member of the clergy, an employee or volunteer of the Archdiocese of Seattle is urged to call the archdiocesan hotline at 1-800-446-7762. The Archdiocese of Seattle has a longstanding commitment to transparency, accountability and assistance to persons sexually abused by clergy or by anyone working on behalf of the Church.”
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