If the Archdiocese of Milwaukee embraced the same level of transparency over child sex abuse as other large Catholic institutions, the number of names on its public list of religious figures with abuse allegations deemed credible would nearly triple, a review by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Chicago Sun-Times found.
The archdiocese’s list of “restricted priests” – or those no longer in ministry and, dead or alive, who have credible allegations of abuse – is among the least comprehensive of the 31 archdioceses in the United States that maintain a public accounting of the abuse crisis, the review by the news organizations found.
On its website, the Milwaukee Archdiocese lists only priests who were ordained through the archdiocese, saying it can’t adequately verify or rely upon lists compiled by others. That means its list excludes religious order priests and brothers, as well as priests ordained in other dioceses who later lived, visited or ministered in Wisconsin.
“There is no certainty that the archdiocese would be informed of allegations against every priest who worked at some point in the archdiocese,” the website states. “Instead of publishing what would be an incomplete list, the archdiocese leaves the listing of names of clergy with substantiated allegations to their respective groups.”
While officials answered some emailed questions, the archdiocese did not respond to requests for interviews on this topic.
Continue reading at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel