Jesuits: Here Are the Accused

The Roman Catholic Jesuit province serving much of the eastern United States on Monday released the names of Jesuit priests who face "credible or established" accusations of sexual abuse of minors dating to 1950, the AP reports. In a letter, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus identified five living Jesuits facing offenses that took place in the province and another eight who are dead. The men—part of a Catholic order that includes more than 16,000 men worldwide—served in churches, high schools, colleges, and other institutions. It's the latest in a string of similar disclosures from Jesuit governing bodies. The letter from the Rev. Robert Hussey, the leader of the Jesuit province headquartered in Maryland, states that most cases date back decades and the most recent incident occurred in 2002.

The five still alive are listed as living in supervised housing "on a safety plan." While some of the named Jesuit priests were removed from ministry in the 1990s, others were not removed until well after the US church sex abuse scourge exploded in Boston in 2002. One accused priest, Neil McLaughlin, was not removed from ministry until 2007 despite multiple accusations, while another, J. Glenn Murray, was only removed from ministry in 2011 despite a 1981 allegation. In his Monday letter, Hussey said the province hopes the disclosure "will contribute to reconciliation and healing." Earlier this month, two other US Jesuit provinces released the names of more than 150 priests and other ministry leaders found to have "credible allegations" of sexual abuse made against them. Click for the full story. (Or read about the Pope defrocking a pedophile priest.)