BishopAccountability.org
	Bishop of Steubenville Diocese Named in Suit Marietta Times [Steubenville OH] October 7, 2006 http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/new88_107200622446.asp Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of the Steubenville Catholic Diocese is among 194 Catholic bishops nationwide facing a lawsuit that would require them to release the names of an estimated 5,000 priests who have admitted to their superiors that they committed sex abuse against children. "Each bishop in every diocese in the U.S. is being served with this lawsuit, and they will have to go to trial," said Judy Jones, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) in Steubenville. "They want (Conlon) to publish the names of those perpetrators from this diocese, too," she said. The suit was filed in St. Croix County Circuit Court in August by the family of Dan O'Connell, a Wisconsin man who was murdered in 2002 by a priest he discovered was a pedophile. O'Connell's family sued after learning that the priest, Father Ryan Erickson, who committed suicide during the murder investigation, had been ordained by his Superior, Wisc., diocese, even though church officials knew of his behavior. The family is not seeking monetary damages, but is asking a state judge to force the bishops to disclose the names of the 5,000 offending priests. According to information from the Steubenville Diocese Web site, Conlon said 17 claims were filed against 13 priests. He said 11 of the allegations were true, but six of the accused priests have died, and the other five were prohibited from practicing as priests. Jones said any priests named by Conlon due to the lawsuit will face child abuse charges.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.