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SIOUX CITY -- Aiming to "shine a light" on its own "shameful history," the Diocese of Sioux City made public Monday the names of 28 priests credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 100 children while serving the Northwest Iowa diocese.

Unlike some other Catholic dioceses, Sioux City has never before released such a list of priests, despite repeated calls from victims and advocacy groups to do so.

"For some, today's release will be an important milestone in our healing," Bishop R. Walker Nickless said at a news conference at the diocese's offices in Sioux City. "For others, it will reopen deep wounds, reviving their disturbing memories or those of their loved ones. However, I believe the Lord compels us to shine a light on this subject so we can together heal and send a clear message to victims: We believe you, we care about you."

For months, a Diocesan Review Board and the diocese's law firm reviewed priest files dating to the diocese's founding in 1902. The first accusation deemed credible occurred in 1948, and the most recent in 1995, said Mark Prosser, a Review Board member who is also police chief in Storm Lake.