Indianapolis Archdiocese lists 23 credibly accused priests

The Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis on Thursday released the names of 23 priests who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor or a young adult dating to the 1940s.

The archdiocese published the names on its website, fulfilling a promise that Archbishop Charles Thompson made in August .

"I pray the release of this list of credibly accused clergy will help all survivors of sexual abuse find the strength to come forward and will set them on the path to healing," Thompson said in a prepared statement Thursday. "I apologize to all victims for the abuse that was done to them and for the failure of the Church to keep them from harm. I pledge to do everything within my power to protect our youth."

The archdiocese said it reports all abuse allegations it receives to Indiana's Child Protective Services and criminal investigators, as required by law, and encourages all victims to contact civil authorities.

Seventeen of the priests named are dead, and each of those who are still alive has been removed from ministry.

The list contained the number of victims each priest was accused of abusing and when the incidents occurred. One priest, Albert Vincent Deery, had 23 victims from the late 1950s through the early 1970s but died before the abuse was reported. Another priest, Harold E. Monroe, had 16 victims from 1976 to 1982. Monroe was removed from the priesthood in 1984.

The archdiocese also named four priests who each had single claims of abuse against them but who died before they could defend themselves against the accusations.

Finally, it named two others who had credible claims of abuse with 18-year-olds from emotional relationships that began when the victims were minors. They include Patrick Doyle , who was removed from ministry last week.

The most recent time of abuse listed was 1997, by John S. Maung, who was removed from the ministry this year. The oldest was 1949, by Edward Theodore Bockhold, who died in 1972. Bockhold also has another reported victim in 1961.

The archdiocese said an allegation was deemed credible by the Archdiocesan Review Board if, after an investigation and review of available information, the accusation was deemed more likely to be true than not.