Roman Catholic officials in Boston have released a list of priests accused of child sex abuse.

The Archdiocese of Boston says the publication of the names is part of an effort to protect children and “rebuild trust” in the wake of the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church in recent years.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley said in a statement accompanying the posting that the effort is to ensure the “tragedy of sexual abuse is never repeated.”

The list contains the names of 157 priests and two deacons in cases over the last several decades. O'Malley did not include the names of 91 people, including dead priests who were never publicly accused and were never investigated by the Church.

Reports of sex abuse by Catholic clergy began coming to light about nine years ago in the United States and later in Europe. Victims say the Church paid little attention to decades of priests' sexual and physical abuse of children and tried to protect the guilty.

The Church has paid millions of dollars to settle some of the claims of sex abuse in the U.S. Roman Catholic officials have said the Church is working with the proper authorities to investigate and prevent abuse.