WEST LEBANON — Support is building to extend New Hampshire’s statute of limitations for sexual assault after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester this week released a list of priests credibly accused of abusing children.

Meanwhile, attorneys representing abuse victims are calling on the church to publicly provide more information, including an account of the diocese’s role in the sexual abuse scandal.

The list, which was posted on the diocese website, contains the names of 73 priests accused of abusing minors between 1950 and 2002. Of those, 29 served congregations in the Upper Valley.

Thirteen priests on the list spent time in Claremont, while seven preached in Woodsville and five worked at churches in New London and Lebanon. There were four priests on the list from St. Denis in Hanover and Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, and two sent to Charlestown and Newport for periods of time.

Messages left for several church leaders were not returned this week. Paul Boucher, a deacon at St. Mary’s in Claremont, referred questions to the diocese when reached on Thursday.

While a majority of the accused priests — 50 of them — are dead, lawmakers and victim advocates say state law should support those now seeking to bring the remaining priests to account.

State Sen. Martha Hennessey, D-Hanover, said she would “enthusiastically” support expanding the statute of limitations for sexual abuse claims.

“Unlike victims of other crimes, victims of sexual assault often are so emotionally unable to come forward within an (arbitrary) designated period of time,” Hennessey, a trained psychologist and chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in an email on Thursday. “I see no reason to set limitations on when a victim can press charges against a perpetrator for these heinous crimes.”

Gov. Chris Sununu is also in favor of “extending the statute of limitation on these horrific crimes,” but would need to review specific legislation before signing it, Ben Vihstadt, the governor’s spokesman, said in an email on Friday.

New Hampshire law gives prosecutors six years to press felony sexual assault charges after a crime is committed, or 22 years after a victim’s 18th birthday, if they were a minor when the abuse occurred.

That means people abused during childhood effectively have until their 40th birthday to tell law enforcement.

However, victims on average don’t come forward until they’re 52, said Amanda Grady Sexton, spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence.

Although other states affected by the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal have amended their laws, she said, New Hampshire has been slow to follow suit.

In Vermont, there is no statute of limitations for aggravated sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault of a child and sexual assault.

Time limits for victims to pursue a civil case were removed by legislation signed by Gov. Phil Scott in June.

Maine and Connecticut also have no criminal or civil statute of limitation on sexual abuse, according to Chuck Douglas, a lawyer and former state Supreme Court justice who has represented about 50 victims of sexual abuse since the Catholic Church scandal broke in 2002.

“New Hampshire in January will have legislation offered by a number of groups to do the same thing here, and I will support them,” Douglas, who is also a former Republican congressman, said in a phone interview on Thursday.

Past attempts at expanding the statute of limitations have been tried and so far proven unsuccessful.

In 2017, a bipartisan group of legislators introduced SB98, which sought to eliminate the statute of limitations on sexual assault and incest. But the bill was referred to an interim study committee after the Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence asked for more time to explore its ramifications.

The committee hasn’t had members appointed or met once, according to the Legislature’s website. A report from the group is due in November.

Hennessey, who co-sponsored the 2017 bill, said she believes a similar measure is capable of passing both the House and Senate next year.

In the meantime, attorneys and critics of the church’s response to the sexual abuse scandal are calling on the Diocese of Manchester to be more transparent.

The list of accused priests includes parishes where they served and statuses on their cases but no details of the allegations or dates the alleged incidents happened.

A full list of accused priests is important to have, but the church hasn’t explained to what extent they were protected, said Eric MacLeish, a Boston-based attorney who has represented victims of clerical abuse.

“Until that information comes out, the penance which the diocese has to make over this horrible scandal is incomplete,” MacLeish said. “The big news is that they haven’t come clean with who enabled a lot of this.”

University of New Hampshire professor Jim Farrell, who called for the release of the list in 2002, also said the church needs to provide information on how bishops, auxiliary bishops, lawyers and public relations firms covered up crimes for decades.

“We need to have an accounting from the diocese and an admission by them of all the efforts of the people who are part of the diocesan hierarchy who worked to cover up these crimes, said Farrell, a practicing Catholic.

The list was part of an effort to inform the general public about the priests who are still alive “to help address any risk to children that they may currently pose,” said Bevin Kennedy, cabinet secretary for development and communication at the Manchester Diocese.

“Since we continue to receive reports and since we have a deep respect for the victims who have shared their stories, that is sort of where we are,” Kennedy said when asked why more information wasn’t released.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.

Priests named in the list from the Upper Valley

Paul Aube, St. Mary in Claremont (1970-1973)

Robert Densmore, Our Lady of Fatima in New London (1962, 1971-1975), St. Mary in Claremont (1969-1971), St. Catherine in Charlestown (1975-1985)

AlfredJannetta, St. Denis in Hanover (1975-1976)

Raymond Laferriere, Sacred Heart in Lebanon (1971)

John Nolin, St. Joseph in Woodsville (1983)

Leo Shea, St. Mary in Claremont (1973-1975)

Roland Tancrede, Our Lady of Fatima in New London (1963), St. Joseph in Woodsville (1966-1971)

Romeo Valliere, St. Mary in Claremont (1965-1969)

Paul Stevens, Our Lady of Fatima in New London (1975-1976)

David Morley, Our Lady of Fatima in New London (1961), Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Chaplain (1976-1977), St. Mary in Claremont (1981-1986)

Gerard Beaudet, St. Joseph in Woodsville (1960)

Silvio Beaudet, St. Mary in Claremont (1944)

Wilfrid Bombardier, St. Denis in Hanover (1980), Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Chaplain (1980)

Albert Boulanger, St. Mary in Claremont (1962-1964), St. Joseph in Woodsville (1968-1969)

John Boyd, Sacred Heart in Lebanon (1945-1957)

Albert Burke, St. Mary in Claremont (1926-1932), St. Joseph in Woodsville (1939-1941)

Denis Downey, St. Patrick in Newport (1948-1949)

Edouard Duval, Holy Redeemer in West Lebanon (1974-1975)

Gerald Joyal, Sared Heart in Lebanon (1961-1962)

Conrad LaForest, St. Mary in Claremont (1977), St. Denis in Hanover and Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Chaplain (1980-1981)

Francis Lamothe, St. Mary in Claremont (1954-1962, 1974, 1977)

Harvey Lamothe, St. Catherine in Charlestown (1974-1976)

Richard Lower, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Chaplain (1973-1980), Our Lady of Fatima in New London (1990-1998), St. Denis in Hanover (1998)

Hubert Mann, St. Mary in Claremont (1943-1950)

Francis McMullen, St. Joseph in Woodsville (1958-1960)

John J. Sullivan, St. Patrick in Newport (1956-1961)

John T. Sullivan, St. Mary in Claremont (1947-1949)

Roland Veillette, Sacred Heart in Lebanon (1964)

Edward Zalewski, St. Joseph in Claremont (1960-1962), St. Joseph in Woodsville (1969-1972), St. Helena in Enfield (1972)

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