The Catholic Diocese of Sioux City released a list of priests who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. Some victims claim that it may be too little, too late.
Pope Francis recently lead a meeting on clerical sexual abuse. He made a call “for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors” and insisted that the church needed to protect the children “from ravenous wolves.” Despite this vow “to combat this evil that strikes at the very heart of our mission,” critics are saying the speech was short of a detailed battle plan. Catholic victims and other members of the church expressed outrage and disappointment at his failure to outline steps to address the problem.
The Diocese of Sioux City have named 28 priests that have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors from 1948 to 1995. Over 107 victims have come forward in that time window and the diocese are asking more victims to come forth as well. Most of the convicted priests have either since been deceased or simply put into work where they aren’t around children. Bill Le Hay of Des Moines is a member of the Iowa SNAP, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, group and he claims that the list from the diocese is still incomplete.
Produced by Gage Teunissen
