Boston Catholics name 600 paedophile priests

CATHOLIC activists have compiled an internet database listing at least 600 American priests who have faced public accusations of child sex abuse since 1996.

The list, assembled by 10 Boston Catholics operating as a group called Survivors First, is drawn from US newspaper articles and, in some cases, court documents.

Paul Baier, a software entrepreneur who led the project, said the effort has been "incredibly cautious" about choosing the priests it would name.

Baier's group has allegations from victims against 2,100 clerics in its files, but is only naming those identified in public reports, he said.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, meeting this week to approve a sex abuse policy for the American church, has not undertaken a complete count of molestation cases since victims began going public in 1985.

The internet list will provide information on each cleric's city and diocese, and the status or outcome of any criminal or civil cases, Baier said.

There will be five categories: priests convicted of crimes, civil settlements in which criminal guilt was not admitted, pending criminal cases, pending civil cases and other situations.

In a few cases, priests' names will be deleted for legal reasons, Baier said, with a referral to a newspaper article or court docket number. But Survivors First has been advised by lawyers that compiling public information is perfectly legal. "We are trying to put the right data out there facts, not emotions," Baier said.