Diocese of Covington Releases List of Abusive Clergy

The Diocese of Covington, Kentucky, has finally released a list of priests, nuns, and other church staff who have been accused of abuse. As one of the last dioceses in the country to release a list of “credibly accused,” we would expect their list to be one of the best in the country. Unfortunately, this list still needs significant improvements to be made.

The list put out by Covington Catholic officials is lacking in necessary details that would make it complete. Critically, the list lacks any information related to when the allegations were received and what actions were taken by the Diocese in response, meaning we have no idea  how long these people worked around children and the vulnerable after Catholic officials had been informed of their wrongdoing. Similarly, the list lacks information such as headshots, nicknames, and the current status and whereabouts of each accused person, information that is necessary to keep communities informed so that parents can keep their children safe.

Absent this information, this list is simply incomplete. We call on Catholic officials in Covington to immediately update their list to include this basic information.

On the other hand, we are grateful that the Diocese of Covington did choose to list not only diocesan priests, but also nuns, religious order brothers, deacons and lay employees who have been accused. This is an important step towards transparency as children and the vulnerable should be protected from all potential abusers, not just those wearing a Roman collar.

The gold standard of lists released by Catholic officials is that from the Diocese of Sacramento, CA. We would hope that Diocesan leaders in Covington would have emulated this list, especially since Sacramento’s list was released nearly than two years ago. Fortunately, there is still time for the Diocese of Covington to improve their list and match the standard set by Sacramento.

CONTACT: Dan Frondorf, SNAP Cincinnati ([email protected], 513-706-7403), Zach Hiner, Executive Director ([email protected], 517-974-9009)

 (SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)