Alaska is the latest state to get involved in investigations of sexual misconduct within Catholic archdioceses.
The Archbishop of Anchorage announced he's ordered an independent review of claims involving both clergy and laypeople associated with the church — going back five decades.
The Alaska Department of Law will assist both the commission and the archdiocese during the investigation.
It'll work a little differently than recent probes launched by other states and the District of Columbia.
According to Anchorage Archbishop Paul Etienne, a three-person commission will look over personnel files since the archdiocese's establishment in 1966. It'll also review allegations against clerical leaders, church employees and volunteers to ensure they were properly handled.
The panel, which is made up of former law enforcement officials, will then deliver a written report to the archbishop. He'll respond to the findings by publishing a list of names of people found to have "credible" allegations against them.
Etienne says the move was prompted by the Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August that outlined decades of widespread alleged abuse.
The Anchorage review is set to start Oct. 31 and could take up to nine months to complete.
