Challenge to Bishops
Victims of sex abuse ask Murphy, 4 others to identify suspected priests, saying 'you can and should do more'

By Carol Eisenberg
Newsday
January 11, 2005

A national victims' group has asked Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre and four other bishops who worked under disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston to post the names of priests who are known and suspected abusers on their diocesan Web sites as a way to protect children.

"Given your role in Boston, the epicenter of this catastrophic episode in the church, we believe you can and should do more," said the letter from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which includes thousands of victims of priest sex abuse.

The letter from Chicago-based SNAP, which has chapters nationwide, was e-mailed to Murphy and other bishops who were top aides to Law on the third anniversary of the Boston Globe series about the cover-up of priest sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston. That series sparked revelations of cover-ups around the country leading to the suspension of more than 700 accused priests nationwide and eventually to Law's resignation as archbishop.

It asks the bishops to implement what SNAP called "common-sense safety precautions" - most importantly, to disclose and publicly post the names of accused priests. Although national church policy requires every U.S. bishop to remove priests found guilty of sex abuse, they have considerable latitude about how to handle the cases. Hence, Murphy does not routinely disclose the names, while bishops in Baltimore, Milwaukee, Los Angeles and Toledo publish that information to varying degrees on their diocesan Web sites.

Sean Dolan, a spokesman for Murphy, declined to comment on the letter, and said the bishop "does not intend to post the names of abusive priests or priests suspected of abuse.

"We don't see anything to be gained by it," he said. "This is not called for in the Dallas Charter and the diocese was found to be in full compliance with the charter for two consecutive years. We continue to be open to all suggestions in caring for the victims of abuse." The nation's bishops adopted the so-called zero tolerance policy in June 2002 in Dallas.

Clohessy said disclosing the names of abusive priests would protect children against men who are serial abusers.

"History shows that even if suspended or defrocked, these dangerous men resurface - sometimes years later, as school counselors, coaches or even as ministers in other denominations," he said. "We've got to make it easy for parents and for employers to research these men and their crimes."

SNAP also asked the bishops to pay personal visits to parishes where predators worked to encourage other victims and witnesses to come forward, and to lobby for changes in state criminal and civil laws to make it easier for victims to seek justice even years later. All three recommendations were immediately endorsed by members of Long Island Voice of the Faithful, a lay group seeking reform.

"The suggestions that SNAP is making to Bishop Murphy sound like simple, common-sense ideas that ought to be done by every bishop," said Pat Zirkel, co-chairman of Long Island Voice of the Faithful. "Disclosing of names of known abusers is especially important to surface other abused victims."

The letter was also sent to Bishops John McCormack of Manchester, N.H.; John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind.; Richard Malone of Portland, Maine; and Archbishop Alfred Hughes of New Orleans.

GRAPHIC: Photo - Bishop William Murphy