Group to share list of accused Catholic clerics

Minnesota members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests on Tuesday released a list of 130 clerics accused of sexual abuse in the state.

The group delivered the list in May Day baskets to the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Diocese of Winona and the Diocese of New Ulm.

Bob Schwiderski, the group's director, said most of the people on the list have already been accused through police reports, court documents or media reports.

"There's been a decision made to bring those names out for the benefit of those still suffering in silence and with a hope that the religious leaders in the Catholic Church in this state realize how important it is to reach out to those same people," Schwiderski said.

Members also spoke for the first time about a cleric accused of abusing children in Golden Valley, Schwiderski said.

The goal is to bring the incidents out in the open and help victims heal, he said.

"It's time to stop the silence," he said. "That's what we're doing today by putting the names together that we know of, we're showing people, we're showing society, we're showing our religious leaders: Let's stop the insanity of hiding this stuff."

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis issued a statement saying any complaints officials have received are made known to those affected. The statement also says the list accuses some priests who have already been cleared of wrongdoing.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The headline of an earlier version of this story mislabeled the released list. The current version is correct.