Bishop Terry LaValley of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg did not name the priests in his letter to parishes but said the names will be posted on the diocesan website. They were posted by press time, Tuesday, Nov. 13, under “offices” and “Safe Environment.” Of the 28 names, 12 are still living.

“In the past, we have declined to publicize the names of these individuals for many reasons, including due process questions,” LaValley wrote. “While there are strong arguments for releasing the names and strong arguments for not releasing the names, recent controversies in the Church make it necessary for us to now release the names.”

A Pennsylvania grand jury reported this summer that there had been “credible allegations” against more than 300 priests across that state, and that the church’s own records showed about 1,000 child victims. Also this summer saw the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who served as Archbishop of Washington, D.C., from 2001 to 2006. McCarrick has been accused of sexually abusing minors and adult seminarians over the course of decades.

“The recent controversies and scandals have produced righteous anger, discouragement and frustration among the people of God. Increasingly, the faithful have called for the release of the names of those removed from ministry under the (2002 U.S. bishops’) Charter.

“I know the release of names will cause pain for those on the list, their families, former parishioners and friends. There will be a need for compassion and understanding among all of us. While our main concern is the safety of our young people and helping victims find healing and peace, we must also strive to uphold the dignity of those removed from ministry. Mercy and reconciliation are central to our mission as the Church of Jesus Christ.”

This week LaValley was at a General Assembly of U.S. Catholic bishops in Baltimore, “where we will be making critical decisions in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis,” he wrote in a prior letter to parishes, dated Oct. 30. He had asked parishioners to join him in praying “for the healing and support of all victims of clergy sexual abuse; for the conversion and just punishment of perpetrators and concealers of sexual abuse; and for the strength of the bishops to be holy shepherds in protecting and leading the faithful from all harm.”

Before LaValley was bishop, he was involved in the diocese’s investigation into sexual abuse by priests. In 2002, in the wake of a Massachusetts scandal later brought to the screen in the Oscar-winning movie “Spotlight,” U.S. bishops required every diocese to investigate and report on clergy sexual abuse allegations going back to 1950. In 2004, the Diocese of Ogdensburg reported that since 1950, 56 people, 37 of whom were minors at the time, had made sexual-abuse allegations against 35 of its clergymen.

The diocese found allegations against 23 priests credible.

Many of those had died or were no longer serving, but the diocese removed eight then-active priests from ministry due to allegations of sexual abuse. It named four of them: Robert Shurtleff, David Wisniewski, Clark White and Theodore Gillette.

All four had served in the Tri-Lakes area: Shurtleff in Saranac Lake in 1975 and Tupper Lake from 1991 to 2000, Wisniewski in Saranac Lake from 1991 to ’96, White in Tupper Lake from 1980 to ’83 and Gillette in Saranac Lake from 1982 to ’83, according to records compiled by Jeff Anderson & Associates, a Minnesota law firm that pursues clergy sex abuse cases nationally.

On March 1, the diocese announced a program to give financial compensation to victims of sexual abuse in the diocese, following the lead of the Archdiocese of New York.

Around that time, Jeff Anderson & Associates issued a report citing accusations against four other priests: John Fallon, Liam O’Doherty, John Hunt and Paul Worczak.

At that time, the diocese said it would not release or confirm names of more accused priests, “to protect the privacy of victims.” LaValley and other bishops have said some victims urge them not to identify their abusers.

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List of offenders

The following are diocesan priests removed from ministry and those who were deceased or left ministry prior to a finding of reasonable grounds by the Diocesan Review Board and/or the diocesan bishop due to sexual misconduct with a minor or vulnerable adult: Fay Ager, Joseph Conti (deceased), Joseph Degen (deceased), Robert Duford (deceased), John Fallon (deceased), Ronald Farchette, Bruce Favreau, Edward Franklin (deceased), Theodore Gillette (deceased), John Hunt (deceased), Edwin Kennedy (deceased), John Kennedy (deceased), Emile Lalonde (deceased), James Larche, Roger Martin (deceased), Gerald McGrath (deceased), Roland Menard, Liam O’Doherty, Albert Plante (deceased), Gerald Sharland (deceased), Robert Shurtleff, Thomas Squires, George Tobin (deceased), Michael Toth, Clark White, John Wiley (deceased), David Wisniewski and Paul Worczak.