The Diocese of Steubenville has released the names of clergy members accused of sexual abuse, one day after the Youngstown diocese published a list of its own.
The Steubenville diocese on Wednesday named 16 priests and one seminarian who it says have been credibly accused or have admitted to sexually abusing minors. Most of the accusations are decades old, and date back to the diocese’s founding in 1944.
“It will help survivors of sexual abuse find the strength to come forward and these innocent victims can begin the process of healing,” said Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton in a press release. “I pledge to do everything possible to protect our youth.”
Steubenville is Ohio's smallest Catholic diocese, with about 34,000 members.
The diocese says it will also provide the names to prosecuting attorneys in counties where the abuse is alleged to have occurred.
On Tuesday, the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown released a list of more than 30 accused priests.
A spokesman for the Columbus Diocese says they do not have a release date at this time, but that they are working on a list of names. The Cleveland diocese, the largest in the state, has pledged to release its own by the end of the year.
The diocese of Toledo and Cincinnati both maintain updated lists of priests removed due to abuse allegations.
The disclosures follow a grand jury report in Pennsylvania that named 300 clergy members accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 children. Bishops in Ohio, as well as both candidates for Ohio Attorney General, have called for a statewide investigation here.
