Several priests who previously served at local schools have been named in a list of Society of Jesus members accused of sexually abusing minors.
This month, U.S. provinces of the Catholic religious order began releasing names of clergy, living and dead, credibly accused of abuse since 1955. The Midwest Province of the Jesuits, which includes Ohio, published its list on Monday.
The local allegations date from the 1950s through the 1980s. A group of nine priests and one brother are accused of abusing minors in Northeast Ohio.
The list includes Rev. Thomas J. Powers, a priest who worked at St. Ignatius High School, John Carroll University and Walsh Jesuit High School. He was dismissed from the order in 2001, according to the list.
Also named was Rev. Roy A. Drake, who died in 2008. According to the Jesuits, he served at John Carroll, and the allegation against him is from the 1980s.
Rev. Brian Paulson, who leads the Midwest Province of the Jesuits, said in a statement that the order listed incidents in which there’s a “reasonable certainty that the accusation is true.”
“On behalf of the Midwest Jesuits, I apologize to victim-survivors and their families for the harm and suffering you have endured. Many of you have suffered in silence for decades,” Paulson’s statement reads.
Paulson acknowledged that some Jesuits were not removed from their ministry quickly enough after an abuse allegation was established.
“For our failures to act, which avoided the demands of justice and failed to protect the people we serve, we are deeply sorrowful,” he said.
