(Houston Chronicle) Archbishop Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was named in a civil suit seeking the release of the names of about 5,000 abusive priests nationwide.
DiNardo was among four bishops of archdioceses in Texas served with the lawsuit last week.
The archdiocese could not be reached for comment late Friday.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the family of Dan O’Connell of Wisconsin, who was shot and killed in 2002 by a suspected pedophile priest, according to PR Newswire.
An intern working with O’Connell also was killed.
At the time, O’Connell had discovered that his assailant, the Rev. Ryan Erickson of the Diocese of Superior, Wis., had been molesting children. Erickson committed suicide in 2004.
Tom O’Connell, the brother of the slain Wisconsin man, said the lawsuit is asking a Wisconsin state district court to compel the 194 Catholic bishops in the U.S. to reveal the names of about 5,000 proven, admitted and credibly accused abusive priests in the country.
The lawsuit, filed in August, does not request any monetary damages.
Diocese officials collected the numbers as part of a nationwide study meant to assess the scope of clergy sex abuse in the American church over the past five decades.
Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, before he was succeeded by DiNardo, identified 22 priests and four deacons who sexually abused 46 minors in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston over the past 53 years.
At the time, he said the 22 priests had died, resigned from the priesthood or were removed from active ministry.
The four deacons were also out of ministry.
From Staff And Wire Reports