LOUISVILLE — Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly said Wednesday he is reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct that have been made against clergy members since 1982.

        In his first public statement since allegations of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests surfaced locally in April, Archbishop Kelly acknowledged that parishioners have made complaints of sexual misconduct among the clergy, employees and teachers of the archdiocese during his 20 years as bishop.

        “The pain of those congregations cries out to me as pastor here. I know they feel betrayed and I somehow feel that I very unwillingly have been a part of that betrayal and of their pain,” said Archbishop Kelly, who oversees 124 parishes in 24 counties. “But we promise to work with each one of those parishes to determine how best to heal them.”

        He said the diocese is reworking its sexual misconduct policy, which was last revised in the 1990s. A new policy — effective immediately — will order priests to advise sexual abuse victims to contact criminal authorities.

        ”(We) Pledge ourselves to rework our policies, we will contin ue to work, and to rewrite and to do a better job of dealing with these cases,” he said.

        Archbishop Kelly also is working to let each congregation know if a priest actively working in a parish has ever been accused of sexual misconduct, he said.

        Several lawsuits have been filed against the diocese, claiming it was aware of sexual abuse among its clergy, but did not take appropriate disciplinary action. Archbishop Kelly and Brian Reynolds, chief administrative officer for the diocese, spoke for one hour, but said they would not comment on specific pending lawsuits or investigations.

        Since April 19, 29 men and three women have filed suit against the archdiocese. Many allege sexual abuse by a recently retired priest, the Rev. Louis Miller, during the 1960s and 1970s. Eleven new suits were filed within hours of Archbishop Kelly's news conference Wednesday.

        In the lawsuits, six priests, including one former priest, and a teacher within Louisville's Catholic school system have been accused of sexually abusing minors, dating back as far as 1959. One of the accused priests, Thomas P. Creagh, announced his resignation Monday.

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