LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The Catholic Diocese of Lexington has received the results of an independent review of child sexual abuse allegation against more than a dozen of its clergy.
It includes 10 of what they called substantiated allegations, including five based in Lexington. The list was compiled by attorneys who had unlimited access to the diocese's priest personnel files and the files of any reports of abuse made to the diocese.
All of the cases date back decades with the most recent allegations coming in the 1990s.
There were also four claims ruled credible allegiations, six Lexington-area priests who had been publicly accused of abuse by other dioceses, and one unsubstantiated allegation.
"I, along with every priest in the Diocese of Lexington, am very sorry for what this report describes and apologize to every person who has ever been abused or injured in any way by one who was ordained to represent Christ," wrote Lexington Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., in a letter accompanying the report, which he commissioned in December 2018.
READ A LETTER FROM BISHOP JOHN STOWE BELOW:
Click here for more information on the priests accused of sexual abuse.
The Catholic Diocese of Lexington urges anyone who has experienced abuse in the Church to report it to the local authorities and to contact the diocesan Victims’ Assistance Coordinator, Laura Napora: (859) 338-5695 or victimsassistance@cdlex.org.
