Diocese of San Bernardino to release names of priests accused of sexual assault

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- It was just over a month ago that a Pennsylvania grand jury report revealed more than 1,000 children molested in the state by about 300 priests.

Now the Diocese of San Bernardino has decided to release a list of all the priests who've faced credible accusations of sexual assault in the wake of the news out of Pennsylvania.

"Many Catholics are understandably and justifiably upset about this, and Bishop Gerald Barnes wants to be accountable to them, and this is one way to do that," John Andrews of the Diocese of San Bernardino said.

Andrews said the list that will soon be revealed spans 40 years, but he said don't expect too many surprises.

"There are only a few names that have not been made public before," Andrews said. "There's probably going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 priests on the list, give or take."

Andrews said close to half the priests whose names will be on the list have already died. Only two of the alleged cases of sexual assault happened this century.

"Obviously, we hope there are not more victims out there of some of these priests on the list," Andrews said. "However, if this allows them to come forward and report their abuse, we want that to happen, that's one of the reasons we're doing this."

"I think it's something that should have happened years ago," San Bernardino resident Jimmy Silva said.

The Diocese of San Bernardino said the list will be posted on its website sometime within the next few weeks.