BANGOR – The spiritual leader of Maine’s 234,000 Roman Catholics said Tuesday that he is reconsidering whether to make public the names of priests accused of sexual abuse.

Bishop Richard J. Malone said he is rethinking his decision not to make public the names of living priests against whom credible accusations of sexual abuse have been made, he said during a news conference at All Saints Catholic School.

Those names have been referred to the Vatican as part of a judicial process set up by Pope John Paul II to deal with priests accused of sexually abusing minors. Priests either can be laicized, or defrocked, or they can be ordered to spend the rest of their lives in prayer and penance.

Malone said it is taking so long for decisions to be made in Rome that he is reconsidering his decision not to release the names of accused priests until the Vatican has made a decision.

“I am growing more and more concerned about the possibility of some potential act of abuse against children,” Malone said. “I respect the need to give these priests due process, but the length of time it’s taking to resolve these cases is making me more and more uneasy.”

Malone refused Tuesday to say how many names have been referred to the Vatican.

“A lot of the names may already be known to the public and the press,” he said.

Last year, the diocese was forced by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to release the names of dead priests against whom accusations of abuse had been made.

Some bishops in dioceses around the country have released the names of living priests against whom accusations have been made, while others have taken a stance similar to Malone’s.