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Lawyer Publishes Names Of Alleged Abusive Priests

A Boston attorney on Wednesday posted a list of 117 religious workers he says were involved in clergy sex abuse cases — including 18 local names he says haven't been released before.

Mitchell Garabedian said he settled lawsuits against each of the priests with the Archdiocese of Boston. And while there was no admission of wrongdoing, he said he has no doubt about their guilt.

Garabedian says he was tired of waiting for the church to release the names.

"The question is, why aren't they taking these priests out of commission so they cannot be out of contact with children and be in contact with the public without the public being forewarned?" he said. "It just isn't right."

Garabedian said transparency is key to protecting children and allowing victims to heal.

"The secrecy must end," Garabedian said. "Clergy sexual abuse occurred because of secrecy and it continues because of secrecy."

In a statement, the Archdiocese said 12 of the new names are people who are deceased and the larger list includes priests against whom the abuse claims were not substantiated.

The Archdiocese said it's work against clergy abuse is ongoing and it's committed to disclosing more information about "credibly accused" clergy and protecting children.

This program aired on January 19, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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