Roman Catholic officials in the southcentral U.S. state of Texas released the names Thursday of nearly 300 priests and others accused of sexually abusing thousands of children.
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Galveston-Houston diocese said the names were made public “because it is right and just, and to offer healing and hope to those who have suffered.”
It is not immediately clear if any of the listed clergy will face charges in court.
Some names on the list go as far back at the 1940s. Many of them are dead.
The list is the latest revelation about predator priests, an international scandal that has rocked the Catholic church.
In August, a grand jury in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania released a report also detailing the abuse of thousands of children by more than 300 priests over seven decades.
The Vatican is holding a summit this month, called by Pope Francis, to not only sensitize church leaders around the world to the pain of abuse victims, but also to teach clergy how to investigate cases and to establish protocols for church hierarchy to use.
