Thursday, January 20, 2011

Lawyer to list church’s alleged abusers

A Boston lawyer who has represented hundreds of clergy sex abuse victims plans today to release his own list of more than 100 alleged abusers.

The Boston Globe reports attorney Mitchell Garabedian is frustrated the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has not published a list of priests accused of abusing minors. 

And he’s called a press conference this morning to announce the names of priests, members of religious orders and former employees of the Catholic Church named in sexual abuse complaints for which he has obtained settlements or arbitration awards.

He said he would also post the 117 names on his firm’s website, according to the newspaper report:
"Garabedian, who said he has represented more than 750 victims of sexual abuse by clergy, said he is publishing the list because Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley has not fulfilled a promise he made almost two years ago to release a comprehensive list of priests who sexually abused children in the Archdiocese of Boston."
"The publication of such lists has been a top goal of victim advocacy groups, and a number of dioceses around the country have posted them."
 Here in the Twin Cities, Jim Keenan says he’s after a similar list.

Keenan, who is suing the St. Paul and Minneapolis Archdiocese, said former priest Thomas Adamson abused him between 1980 and 1982 while Adamson served at Church of the Risen Savior in Burnsville.

Keenan, 43, who resides in Savage, filed suit in 2006 against the archdiocese and the Diocese of Winona, claiming church officials knew of abuse complaints against Adamson but failed to act. 

A Ramsey County district judge threw out the suit in October, ruling that the alleged abuse happened too long ago to meet the statute of limitations. Keenan has appealed that decision.
 
The archdiocese has tried to settle out of court, both Keenan and the archdiocese say. 

But Keenan said he’s declined because the archdiocese won’t make public a list of priests suspected of sexual abuse. 

The list, however, has remained under seal by court.

SIC: OV/USA