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Letter: Put the number of accused priests in historical context

(Mary Altaffer | Associated Press file photo) This Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 file photo shows the newly renovated and cleaned facade of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The Archdiocese of New York says at least 120 priests accused of sexually abusing a child or having child pornography have worked there over decades. The nation’s second-largest archdiocese released a list of names on Friday, April 26, 2019.

The April 27 article titled “Archdiocese of New York names 120 priests accused of sexual abuse” in The Salt Lake Tribune’s print edition was shocking.

Could it be, I thought, that these are all priests currently in ministry in New York? So I called a friend who works in the New York archdiocesan offices for some light on the matter.

He told me that the 120 cases go back to 1900; that the total number of priests working in the archdiocese since 1900 was, conservatively estimated, well over 6,000; that no priests on the accused list is currently in ministry; and that at the present time the archdiocese is dealing with no cases of clergy sex abuse of children and minors.

I am not for a moment playing down the disaster of clergy malfeasance in New York or anywhere else, the blot it leaves on the Catholic Church and the horror it has wielded on victims. But I did find it helpful to be able to put the April 27 story in historical and numerical context.

Monsignor M. Francis Mannion, pastor emeritus of St. Vincent Church, Salt Lake City

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