The Diocese of Des Moines, in a letter to parishioners Wednesday, said it would release the names of nine priests accused of sexually abusing children while serving the diocese.

Bishop Richard Pates, reached by phone Wednesday evening, said a press conference is scheduled for Thursday.

More:Diocese of Des Moines, following Sioux City's lead, names 9 priests accused of abusing minors

All but two of the names have previously been shared publicly, the letter said. The abuse by the nine priests occurred between the 1950s and the 1990s, Pates wrote.

"I share the anger and frustration of recent reports of clerical abuse of minors and young people," Pates wrote in the letter dated April 3. "It is my sincere hope the release of this list facilitates healing, encourages additional victims who have faced abuse to come forward and begins to restore trust."

The Diocese of Sioux City in February publicly named 28 credibly accused priests. The lists follow an international reckoning on sex abuse by Roman Catholic clergy.

After the Sioux City diocese named the priests, most of whom were deceased, Des Moines diocese spokesperson Anne Marie Cox said Pates was "studying this issue in consultation with our Allegation Review Committee."

Like the Sioux City list, which included abuse between 1948 and 1995, the substantiated allegations in the Des Moines list date back more than 20 years.

Last year, Pates referred a third allegation of decades-old sexual abuse by a retired priest, the Rev. Leonard Kenkel, to local law enforcement. The diocese has previously made public allegations against Albert Wilwerding, John Ryan, Richard Wagner, Howard Fitzgerald and Phil Hobt, said diocese spokesperson Anne Marie Cox in February.

The Rev. Paul Monahan, who was suspended in 2016 after accusations that he invaded the privacy of five male high school students in a locker room, had his conviction reversed and his suspension of priestly ministry fully lifted in 2018.

The press conference is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Catholic Pastoral Center in downtown Des Moines.

"This is a significant moment for us as a diocese, and for the Catholic Church," Pates wrote.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.