Some parishioners in the Diocese of Youngstown are calling on the Bishop to react more swiftly when it comes to the sexual abuse allegations within the diocese.

Bill Cushwa was born and raised in Youngstown, but now as a Parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Aurora, Ohio, he has traveled back to the Valley and is at the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown demanding change.

He delivered a two-page letter, along with about 500 signatures to Bishop George Murry from the congregation.  They are demanding a meeting and prompt action against what they say has been a rampant abuse of children and vulnerable adults within the Catholic Church. 

"So there's a lot of folks who are wavering right now, somewhat lost and we don't want to come across as a church that is lost.  There might be individuals that are corrupt, but our faith is not," Cushwa said.

The church says its letter was sparked by a letter sent by the Bishop to all the churches in the diocese saying the names of priests or church workers that had credible sexual abuse allegations against them would be released in the coming months.

Father Jim Daprile from the church in Aurora, and also a Valley native, says why not release them now?

"Our concern is that he said in the coming months.  I can't believe that he doesn't have that list at his fingertips," Father Daprile said.

Then Father Daprile dropped a bombshell, telling me the Youngstown Diocese was protecting predator priests in the 80's.

"It is in Youngstown, and I know priests that have been dismissed from the clerical state in the 80's, and it's been handled in a quiet, secret way," Father Daprile said.

So 21 News asked:  "Are you saying in the Youngstown Diocese?"
Father Daprile:  "Yes."
21 News:  "And you know that for certain?
Father Daprile:  "Yes."
21 News:  "You believe those are people that may have been involved in something they should not have been?"
Father Daprile:  "I know they were child predators."
21 News:  "In Youngstown?"
Father Daprile:  In Youngstown.  Yes.

The Father went on to say, "Even after they were sent away for therapy or whatever their programs were, their rehabilitation failed.  They harmed children again.

Father Daprile says the two men that he is aware of live outside of Ohio now, and another source says one of the men was one of more than 300 Priests indicted recently by a Pennsylvania Grand Jury.

Bishop Murry contacted 21 News after reading the letter and said, "The letter was very helpful and I welcome more lay participation in chartering a course for the future.  They offered five recommendations and we are already doing four of them.  The one that we suggested to have a human resources committee of lay experts is something we are not currently doing, but we are reorganizing our human resources department.  I plan to meet with them as soon as I can."

As far as naming anyone who has credible sexual allegations against them, Bishop Murry says it is not possible to release the names sooner because of legal complications, including who is deceased and who isn't.

The Bishop later told our print partner The Vindicator:

The diocese has already compiled a list of complaints against clergy - the most recent of which was made about a month ago and referenced an incident that occurred in the 1950's - and the diocese will not immediately release the aforementioned list and is instead awaiting background checks and identity confirmations for the accused clergy.

He said the diocese has previously launched abuse inquiries and later found authorities were investigating a different clergyman with the same name.

"We want to make sure before we put the names out that we have the right people, he said.