VICTIMS QUAKE AT NAMES ON ‘ON LEAVE’ LIST

The survivors of abuse by priests know how to spot potential child molesting priests.  The names are listed in the Official Catholic Directory and they see their names next to harmless phrases like Absent on Leave, or Released from Diocesan Assignment.  There are 63 priests listed that way in the 2000 version of the book by the Brooklyn Diocese.  They all may not be abusers, but Bishop Thomas Daily, who has been reluctant to fully disclose the names and whereabouts of priests in his diocese accused of abusing children, should be slapped with a subpoena so we can find out how many are.

The Rev. Romano Ferraro, the Queens priest busted for raping a boy in Massachusetts, was on one of those Absent on Leave junkets for three years before he returned to work, and was removed in 1988 after another accusation.

The Rev. Henry Mills, who was accused of raping a teenage boy in The Bronx, is still listed as Absent on Leave although he's working in a Washington Heights church.

Stephen Rubino, a lawyer who represents priest-abuse victims said, It doesn't make any sense at all, there is no accountability.

(New York)