DUBUQUE (IA)
The Des Moines Register
By SHIRLEY RAGSDALERegister Religion Editor
03/17/2003
Even as Catholic churches in the Archdiocese of Dubuque hold services to atone for priests who molested children and bishops who were silent, activists are complaining that the archdiocese has not released the names of 19 priests who were accused of abuse years ago.
The first atonement service was March 9 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Waterloo.
The Rev. Jerome Hanus, archbishop of Dubuque, read the litany of lament, praying for forgiveness "for all sins of abuse committed by the ministers and the community of the church."
But the effort to reverse the feelings of bitterness or despair of the victims and their families falls short, said Da- vid Wanamaker, spokesman for the Dubuque chapter of Voice of the Faithful, a group formed in response to the national priest sex abuse scandal.
"While Archbishop Hanus spoke of forgiveness, contrition and openness, he still refuses to release the names of 19 priests credibly accused of sexual abuse of children from our own archdiocese," Wanamaker said. "When we approached him after the service and asked him when he was going to release those names, he turned and walked away."
The allegations against the 19 priests were accumulated from 1940 to 1995, according to Hanus. The eight who are still living are no longer serving as priests.
