LEXINGTON (KY)
Lexington Herald Leader
December 19, 2018
By Mike Stunson
A pair of attorneys will review priest personnel files and reports of sexual abuse of minors in the Catholic Diocese of Lexington since it was formed in 1988, according to Bishop John Stowe.
The attorneys — Allison Connelly and Andrew Sparks — will be free to report findings to civil authorities while they compile a comprehensive report for the diocese, according to an announcement in the diocese newsletter.
“Because of the history of abuse in the Church, there is not much trust in what the bishops self report; I hope that having independent attorneys conduct a review for the diocese can help with the credibility of such a report,” Stowe said Monday. “If these attorneys find that we in the Catholic Diocese of Lexington have been deficient in our reporting or response to allegations of abuse, I want to be able to correct that.”
Stowe added the the church is “striving for greater transparency to assure people that accusations of abuse are taken with utmost seriousness.” The diocese serves 50 counties in Central and Eastern Kentucky.
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