Boston lawyer releases names of priests in abuse cases
January 19, 2011
A Boston attorney who specializes in sex-abuse cases has released the names of over 100 priests and church employees who have been named in sex-abuse complaints.
Mitchell Garabedian, who boasts of his success in lawsuits against the Catholic Church, said that he was releasing the list of names "so that the truth be told and that the secrecy end." He has complained that the Boston archdiocese has been tardy in releasing a full list of accused clerics.
In releasing the names, Garabedian produced no evidence that all of the clerics on the list are guilty.
A spokesman for the Boston archdiocese pointed out that among named on Garabedian's list, only 12 are clerics of the Boston archdiocese whose names had not already been made public. In all 12 of those cases, the spokesman added, the accused priest was dead before the allegation was made.
The archdiocesan statement noted that every credible report of sexual abuse by clerics is reported to law-enforcement officials. However, when the accused priest is deceased-- and thus cannot be a threat to anyone-- the archdiocese does not release his name when his guilt or innocence is unproven.
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Further information:
- Lawyer to list church’s alleged abusers (Boston Globe)
- Church's Accused Abusers Named Online (WCVB)
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Posted by: dover beachcomber -
Jan. 19, 2011 10:47 PM ET USA
Why don't we just get it over with, by liquidating every last dime's worth of Church property and giving it directly to the Trial Lawyers' Association? When there's no more money to be made in legal fees, I would bet that Garabedian and his ilk will suddenly find that their busy calendars will not permit them to take on any more abuse cases.
