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Jesuits name 11 Sacramento priests accused of sexual abuse

Eleven priests who served in Sacramento over the last 50 years were among a list of priests with credible sexual abuse allegations against children, the Catholic Jesuit West province released on Friday.

Eleven priests who served in Sacramento over the last 50 years were among a list of priests with credible sexual abuse allegations against children, the Catholic Jesuit West province released on Friday.

The priests served in the Diocese of Sacramento at Jesuit High School, St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish or St. Elizabeth Parish, Bishop Jaime Soto of the Sacramento Diocese said in a statement.

In October, the Sacramento Diocese announced that it had begun compiling a list of priests credibly accused of who served in the organization.

“We are compiling that list now, and have enlisted the help of an independent auditor respected for her work in protecting children and the vulnerable from abuse,” Soto said.

Dan McNevin, 59, was abused by a priest in the Oakland diocesed when he was a child, he said.

Now, he's an advocate with the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests, a national support network of more than 25,000 members who have been abused by clergy.

"A lot of people are devastated by this," McNevin said. "This is a rape of the soul, not just of the body. Because these priests are there spiritual conduits to heaven.”

The recent release of names is a good start, McNevin says, but is urging the Roman Catholic Church to do much more.

Release the names, locations, and nature of the abuse, McNevin says. So, that the abused, families, and friends know what has occurred and can help survivors

The names released by the Jesuit’s on Friday will be included in a list being compiled by the diocese, Soto said. The list being put together by an independent auditor will include priests and member of religious orders.

“I am committed to confronting the evil of sex abuse in our past and to atoning for it,” Soto said. “A key step in that atonement is a thorough and public accounting of the past. It is my hope the list being prepared will help in this effort.”

The Sacramento Diocese now has a zero-tolerance policy for credible cases of sexual abuse, according to the Diocese of Sacramento. Any priest who is credibly accused of abusing a minor is removed from the ministry and law enforcement is notified.

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