BELLEVILLE (IL)
News Democrat
January 23, 2019
By Lexi Cortes
A victims group and advocates say Belleville Bishop Edward K. Braxton’s list of priests “credibly accused” of sexual abuse of children is missing 10 names.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests gathered Wednesday afternoon outside the Diocese headquarters to request that Braxton update the list, and that he release work histories, photos and current locations of every accused priest or deacon.
The group, known as S.N.A.P., said releasing more details could help victims identify them.
Braxton didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The Diocese previously published a list of 17 members of the clergy who had been removed from ministry because of allegations of sexual abuse. In a statement from December, the Diocese said most of them were removed in the 1990s, after a diocesan review board was formed to investigate allegations from victims.
According to S.N.A.P., the priests all have ties to Southern Illinois and should be added to the Diocese’s list because they are accused of abusing children in other places.
David Clohessy, of S.N.A.P., said he believes they were left off the list because they either weren’t ordained in the Belleville Diocese or they belonged to a different religious order.
But the group says they worked in Belleville, Alton, Henry, Sparta, Godfrey, Toluca, Mendota, Bethany, Campus and Carbondale at one point.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.