Eighteen Roman Catholic priests serving in north-central Indiana’s Diocese of Lafayette have been accused of sexually abusing 26 minors since 1950, Bishop William L. Higi said Wednesday. Accusations against nine of the priests were deemed credible and they were removed from the ministry, Higi said in an article published in The Catholic Moment, the diocesan newspaper. Higi apologized to people in the diocese. “All Catholics, I believe, grieve deeply that victims and their families and loved ones have suffered so deeply because of this intolerable sin and betrayal,” Higi said in a statement accompanying the report. “Those of us who are priests also grieve. It is my prayer people will not condemn us, the vast majority of priests, for the egregious acts of the few.” None of the priests have been charged criminally, he said. Two lawsuits were filed, one of which was dismissed, he said.
