A link to a list of all those named in Texas dioceses
is found in the last story on this post
credibly accused of sex abuse
By BY DAVID TARRANT AND ALLAN JAMES VESTAL
| THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS |
The Dallas Catholic Diocese Thursday afternoon joined Catholic leaders across Texas to release the names of hundreds of clergy members who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of children going back nearly seven decades.
The Dallas diocese said its list of 31 includes those who were accused of sexual abuse of a minor since 1950 and does not constitute a determination of guilt. Seventeen of them are dead. Four of the living have already been "laicized," meaning they were removed from the clergy.
Dallas Bishop Edward J. Burns said in a letter accompanying the list that a credible allegation "is one that, after review of reasonably available, relevant information in consultation with the Diocesan Review Board or other professionals, there is reason to believe is true."
Some of the names on the list are likely familiar to Dallas Catholics, and their cases had been covered by The Dallas Morning News and other media. One of those on the list is Rudolph "Rudy" Kos, a Dallas priest found guilty and sentenced to life in prison on child sexual abuse charges in the late 1998.
The year before, 11 families won a $119.6 million verdict against the Catholic Diocese of Dallas in a civil trial on the Kos case. At the time, the verdict was the largest ever awarded involving clergy sex abuse of minors.
By Thursday afternoon, seven Texas dioceses, including Dallas, had released their lists. Among them, the list included dozens of priests, two deacons and one bishop. Three in Dallas also served as military chaplains. Two others served as chaplains at Southern Methodist University. One served as chaplain at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.
Archdioceses of San Antonio and Galveston-Houston have yet to publish their lists. Burns said at the news conference that all the lists, once released, will show about 280 names.
But victims' advocates immediately questioned whether the lists will be complete and credible.
"The only way to ensure that the bishops here in Texas are truly sincere about rebuilding their sacred trust is to allow for independent, properly trained experts in law enforcement to review all files and allegations related to clergy sexual abuse," said a statement released by the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Dallas lawyer Tahira Merritt, who has represented many church abuse survivors over the past three decades, said the list deserves a skeptical eye. "The public should keep in mind that church officials should have released these names decades ago," she said.
Merritt said until law enforcement conducts an independent audit, "the 'lists' will be incomplete. It's simply another version of 'trust us.'"
The 15 dioceses in the state decided to release the lists in September during the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops. The transparency measure came as the Catholic Church in Dallas and around the world has come under increasing pressure to address the ongoing sexual abuse crisis.
The Dallas Catholic Diocese in August disclosed that Edmundo Paredes, a former longtime priest at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Oak Cliff, was credibly accused of molesting three teenage boys in the parish over a decade ago.
Paredes, whose name was on the list Thursday, fled Dallas almost a year ago and is believed to be living in his native Philippines.
The diocese confirmed in September it had reached a financial settlement with the three accusers. But the settlements' details were kept confidential.
The three men declined to speak with police investigators, according to a statement released by Dallas police in August. But in mid-January, Dallas police issued an arrest warrant for Paredes after a fourth accuser reached out to Dallas police.
Burns in October told St. Cecilia parishioners that the diocese had hired former law enforcement investigators to comb through priests' files. He announced the plan to release the list the next day at a news conference.
Burns, whose diocese counts 1.3 million Catholics in nearly 75 parishes over a nine-county area, said the church wanted to "protect our children, create a safe environment, to promote healing for those who've been abused, and to demonstrate that we are focused on facing this issue."
Many U.S. dioceses have recently published similar lists. And the Jesuits of the USA Central and Southern Province released a list in December that included 11 clergy members who had previously worked at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas.
A recent review by The Associated Press determined that over the past four months, Catholic dioceses across the United States have released the names of more than 1,000 priests and others accused of sexually abusing children.
Those lists followed a scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report alleged decades of abuse and cover-ups in Catholic dioceses in that state.
The diocese of Fort Worth had been releasing names of credibly accused clergy since 2007 on its website and had no new ones to reveal Thursday, spokesman Pat Svacina said.
The Dallas Police Department also has a detective assigned to investigate accusations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
Report Names 84 San Bernardino Priests
Accused Of Child Sex Abuse
BY AARON SCHRANK 
Attorney Mike Reck presents San Bernardino report alongside clergy abuse survivors Manny Vega and Tom Emens. (Photo by Aaron Schrank for LAist)
A law firm representing California survivors of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests has released a new report detailing alleged abuse by clergy in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino.
The 70-page report by Minnesota-based Jeff Anderson and Associates provides background information and assignment history on more than 80 clergy accused of sexual misconduct in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
The firm — which is representing a Camarillo man in a public nuisance suit against California's Catholic bishops — has released similar reports on the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Orange in recent months.
At a news conference in Ontario Thursday, attorneys demanded San Bernardino Bishop Gerald Barnes release the names of predatory priests and Church officials who hid their behavior.
Attorney Mike Reck says today's disclosure makes children safer. "This information is information that could have and should have been shared by Church officials long ago," Reck said. "We're doing this because the Diocese of San Bernardino did not."
In October, the Diocese of San Bernardino County released a list of 34 priests who have been accused of sexually abusing children since the diocese formed in 1978. Officials added one name to that list the following month.
Anderson's report includes those 35 names, as well as 32 names of priests accused of abuse in San Bernardino before 1978, when the region was still part of the Diocese San Diego.
Those 32 names can be found on the Diocese of San Diego's list of credibly accused priests, which recently added 8 new names, including Rev. Raymond Etienne, who served as pastor in a San Bernardino church 20 years ago. Etienne allegedly sexually assaulted seminarians in Riverside.
The San Bernardino Diocese says it's made a good faith effort to be transparent about reports of sexual abuse by clergy.
"Our list is our very best effort to disclose the clergy abuse cases that happened in the years that we actually existed as a diocese, since 1978," said San Bernardino Diocese spokesman John Andrews.
"But because we did used to be part of San Diego, we also published the list that they put out and encouraged people to look at the two lists together to get the full picture of abuse cases in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. There was no attempt to mislead anyone."
Reck says 17 of the names in today's report aren't on either list produced by Church officials. They were verified based on court documents or media reports. Reck says there are likely more examples of abuse hidden in the Church's personnel files.
"This report is incomplete," Reck said. "Survivors and survivors' advocates created this report with publicly available information. The rest of this information is still held under lock and key by Church officials in San Bernardino and around the state."
Andrews said the Diocese of San Bernardino is open to looking into other cases and amending its list.
"The whole reason we're doing this is to be transparent and forthcoming with the people and in the name of healing for victims, because that's what we're called to do, and we're going to continue to do it," Andrews said.
Jeff Anderson and Associates' report highlighted the history of abuse handling in San Bernardino, including a 1950 letter from the Bishop of San Diego to Church officials in Rome complaining of the Franciscan Order using the communities of Beaumont and Banning as "a dumping ground for their moral, mental and physical problems."
The report also pointed out that the Diocese of San Bernardino was home to a halfway house for problem priests run by a religious congregation called the Servants of the Paraclete, which attorneys argue may have exposed parishioners in the region to abuse.
Attorneys tracked the movements of the priests over time, noting clergy members who were transferred both in and out of the country.
In recent months, dozens of Catholic jurisdictions around the country have released lists of priests credibly accused of child sex abuse. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles released the first update to its list in a decade — adding the names of 54 priests who were all accused of abuse since 2008.
Last month, however, L.A. auxiliary bishop Monsignor Alexander Salazar — whose name was not on the updated list — was removed from ministry after an oversight board in the L.A. Archdiocese found misconduct allegations against him credible.
The current wave of disclosures follows a Pennsylvania grand jury report released in August detailing allegations that Pittsburgh-area priests had molested more than 1,000 children.
San Antonio Archdiocese releases list of accused clergy with credible child sex abuse accusations
by Zack Hedrick, NEWS4SASAN ANTONIO - The Archdiocese of San Antonio has released a report on allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy members in the Archdiocese.
The report goes back to 1940, outlining more than 150 credible accusations and naming 57 clergy members. “We were not where we should have been," said Garcia-Siller. "We did not act in a timely manner.”
From 1940 to 2019, the report states more than 3,000 priests have ministered in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. The most recent allegation was actually submitted in the last few weeks, Garcia-Siller says.
The Archdiocese states most of the priests identified in the report are either dead or have been removed from ministry. “This report can bring more people to come forward and it’s part of what we intend," said Garcia-Siller.
The report shows no one has alleged they were sexually abused by a clergy member in the Archdiocese between 2010 and 2019.
While the list was being compiled, Archbishop Garcia-Siller says he met with survivors of sexual abuse here in San Antonio. “They disclosed their pain, their struggles, their anger towards society, the anger with the Church, their anger toward God,” said Garcia-Siller.
The investigations into the allegations and the report was prepared by an independent lay commission. After releasing the report, Garcia-Siller tells us most of the cases took place in the 60's, 70's and 80's and 55 total clergy members. Of those, some have died and all are out of ministry.
The archbishop was asked if he expects more to come forward after the release of this report. "I wish that there will not be," Garcia-Siller tells us. "But we are of the awareness that this report can bring more people to come forward and it's part of what we intend, that people who have been abused contact us or law enforcement directly."
The report says only two allegations were found to be credible in the years 2000-2009. Many of the priests named in the report are now dead, or the allegations against those still alive are decades old.
News 4 Trouble Shooter Jaie Avila was the only reporter to interview Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales on Thursday about the chances of prosecuting any of these cases. Gonzales said it gets very complicated because the statute of limitations is different depending on how far back the abuse took place.
For example, sex abuse crimes in the 1960's couldn't be prosecuted unless the victim came forward within one year to report them. In the 1970’s, they only had about three years to file a case. Even though the legislature slowly increased the statute of limitations, older crimes still can't be prosecuted.
“We know that anything that occurred prior to September of 1987 probably cannot be prosecuted, because it's just too old of an offense," Gonzales said. Since 2007 there is no longer a statute of limitations for child sex abuse, but you can't go back and apply that to older crimes.
Gonzales says any cases since the late 1980’s that could possibly be prosecuted would have to be investigated first by law enforcement. He says he's hopeful the archdiocese will help put them in touch with victims and witnesses.
News 4's Avila cross checked the list released Thursday with abuse allegations that we've reported on over the years or that were made public in court records. He counted 33 abuse cases we didn't know about before.
One example is James Patrick Orr, a deacon at Our Lady of the Atonement on the Northwest side. Over the years several victims came forward and accused Orr of molesting them while he worked as a volunteer at the parish in the early 1990's before he became a deacon.
According to today's report the current pastor at Our Lady of the Atonement knew about one of the allegations, but determined it wasn't credible and did not tell the archbishop until 2016. Orr died just ten days ago, but he'd been forbidden to function as a deacon since 2015,
John Fiala was a priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity who wanted to join on with the archdiocese. He was assigned to churches and in Leakey, Rocksprings, Camp Wood and Harper from 2005 to 2008.
The archdiocese says the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity withheld information about abuse allegations against him. Fiala died in prison in 2017 after being convicted of child sex abuse charges.
The report also says 3 priests who had credible allegations against them cannot currently be located by the archdiocese.
News 4 Irene Cruz has been combing through the list and has found nearly half of those names we have reported on in the past, 24 to be exact.
A couple examples are Virgilio Elizondo who was ordained a priest in 1963. A man claimed he was sexually abused by a different priest in the eighties and says when he tried to report it to Elizondo, Elizondo kissed and touched the alleged victim.
In another case, just last year, Edward Pavlicek was accused of child sexual abuse between 1986 and 1988. Pavlicek was ordained in 1983 and was assigned to Saint Ann, Saint Leo and Saint Benedict's.
Again, 24 total names we've reported on in the past, some accused of possessing child pornography and some with up to 16 allegations per priest.
Another list that has been combed through is Bishopaccountability.org. We found that 11 more priests, nuns and brothers who may have passed through San Antonio in the 70, 80s and 90s as teachers, pastors or seminarians have credible allegations against them.
Austin Diocese releases list of 22 clergy
accused of child sex abuse
By: Sarah RafiqueAUSTIN (KXAN) — As the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin released the names of 22 clergy "credibly accused" of sexually abusing children, Bishop Joe S. Vasquez said three of those cases have been referred to law enforcement.
After the list was released Thursday, Vasquez encouraged other child victims to call authorities, instead of just reporting their concerns to church leaders.
“Any cases that we saw that needed to be referred to the law enforcement, we referred them to the law enforcement," Vasquez said. "We say it again now to all possible victims, please go to the authorities and report these cases and then if you believe that we can help in some way in that process, then come to the church and we’ll also be helping.’
The three cases that have been referred to law enforcement all came to light after 2002. If more accusations are brought forth, he said additional names could be added to the list and, in some instances, turned over to law enforcement.
"That’s my promise as a bishop," he said. "We’re going to do everything possible to be able to maintain that trust, and the only way that happens is if we’re transparent and I think this is one evident way to be transparent, saying we’ve heard the victims."
The diocese hired an independent investigator who compiled the list after reviewing 70 years’ worth of files and recommending whose name should be released. Vasquez declined to name who the third party investigator was.
When KXAN asked if the diocese would turn over internal files to law enforcement if officials asked for them, he said, "if they ask for that, if this is what they’re going to do, you know those are particular issues I don’t know the situation, so it’s all hypothetical until it becomes real."
Below is the list of those members of the clergy and what we know about them so far. Their inclusion on this list does not mean they have been charged or convicted of any crimes. Four of the people below have been laicized, or barred from all priestly ministry:
Aguilar, Ricardo: He was ordained in 1995 and removed from the ministry in 2011. He was laicized in 2017.
Clogan, Paul M.: He was ordained in 1999 and died in 2012.
Delaney, Daniel Joseph: He was ordained in 1973 and died in 2008.
Drinan, Daniel Michael: He was ordained in 1977, removed from the ministry in 2002, expelled in 2006 and laicized in 2014.
Eggerling, Milton: He was ordained in 1954 and died in 2008.
Faust, Claude: He was ordained in 1939 and died in 1973.
Gallagher, James: He was ordained as a Deacon in 1984 and died in 2005.
Garcia, Jim Castro (a/k/a Santiago): He was ordained in 2017 in the Archdiocese of Kingston, Jamaica, after he was dismissed from seminary in Austin in 2011.
Greenwell, James H.: He was ordained in 1954 and died in 2012.
Hand, Jr., Chester Culver: He was ordained in 1986 and died in 2002.
Kinder, Conrad: He was ordained in 1921 and died in 1978
Krol, Michael Francis: He was ordained in 1945 and died in 1996.
Muller, Gerald: He took his vows in 1946 and was removed from the ministry and restricted in 2017.
He was a former teacher at St. Edward's University, who stopped teaching there in 2014, according to a letter the school sent Thursday. It said in 2017, the university found out about an incident with a 17-year-old student in 1986 and opened a Title IX investigation.
A former student who requested to remain anonymous said Muller was "kind of a rock star" at St. Edwards and that she never heard anything negative about him. "He was very revered there, because he was one of the oldest professors. He has quite the past. Used to brag about his old teaching days in California where he taught celebrities."
According to his blog, Muller taught high school in California and instructed celebrities like Mark Harmon, William Katt Jr. and Jerry Mathers. He also taught music history at St. Edward's and conducted choral groups throughout Austin.
Nowery, C. Richard: He was ordained in 1968 and died in 2018.
O'Connor, James R.: He was ordained in 1969, removed from the ministry in 2004 and laicized in 2018.
Ozuna, Rafael Rendon: He was ordained as a Deacon in 2007, removed from the station in 2010 and laicized in 2013.
Reyes, Longinus Juventius (a/k/a Lonnie): He was ordained in 1969 and was removed from the ministry and retired in 2004.
He was removed from the ministry after he admitted to a bishop that he had sexual relations with two teenage girls in the 1970s while on duty in Austin. In 2004, Reyes said he regretted his behavior.
Robles, Victor G.: He was ordained in 1986, removed from the ministry in 2002 and retired in 2009.
Tijerina, Alberto Matta: He was ordained in 1980 and removed from the ministry in 1993.
Waiches, Vincent: He was ordained in 1946 and died in 1995.
Willemsen, Adrianus Johannes (a/k/a Andy, Andrew, Andre): He was ordained in 1954 and died in 2012.
Wozniak, Louis J.: He was ordained in 1951, retired in 1999 and removed from the ministry in 2015.
Diocese of Tyler releases names of clergy 'credibly accused' of child sexual abuse
The decision to publicly identify those accused was made on September 30, 2018, and was agreed upon by the 15 Catholic dioceses in Texas and the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
Author: KYTX Staff
TYLER, Texas — Bishop Joseph E. Strickland and the Diocese of Tyler have released the names of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor, dating back to at least 1950.
The letter Bishop Strickland released reads as follows:
My Dear Clergy, Consecrated Religious, and Faithful of the Diocese of Tyler,
Today, I join with the other bishops of Texas in releasing the names of clergy (priests and deacons) in our dioceses who are subject to credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Personally, and with my brother bishops, I express my deep sorrow to the survivors of abuse and my commitment to providing pastoral care for each survivor. I apologize for the failings and sins that have hurt the Church so deeply, especially with our most vulnerable members. I especially ask forgiveness for the failings of those who have held positions of leadership in the Church. I have only one name to release for which a credible allegation exists in the Diocese of Tyler since its creation in 1987. But even that is one too many. The abuse of minors - physical, emotional, and above all, sexual - should NEVER happen in churches, in homes, in schools, or anywhere. All of us are called to holiness and to serve as examples of virtue, but our priests and deacons are to be held to a high standard – and rightly so.
The name I am releasing to you today is that of Gustavo Cuello. See his story immediately below.
Smith County judicial records
The acts of abuse he committed were deplorable, and it is fitting and just that he received the maximum criminal penalty from the courts - life in prison - as well as the most severe canonical penalty the Church can impose - dismissal from the clerical state.
Mr. Cuello represents less than one percent of the 448 priests and deacons who have served in the Diocese of Tyler since its creation by Pope St. John Paul II in 1987.
While the Cuello case is the only one which took place in the Diocese of Tyler, I share with you that the Archdiocese of San Antonio has included the name of Msgr. John Flynn in their release today. The summary of the case can be found on the website of the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
Msgr. Flynn is a native of Ireland. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Antonio in 1952. Msgr. Flynn resigned from ministry in the Archdiocese in 1997 and came to Tyler in 1998 with the permission of Bishop Edmond Carmody. He retired as a pastor in 2002 but continued to provide priestly service.
In 2005, the Archdiocese of San Antonio presented new information about Msgr. Flynn to Bishop Alvaro Corrada of Tyler which indicated a possible credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor female which was reported to have occurred in the 1960s/70s in the San Antonio area.
The Diocese of Tyler immediately removed Msgr. Flynn from priestly ministry and the case was submitted by the Diocese of Tyler to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome as required by Church law. In this case, the Congregation did not dispense from prescription (a canonical term barring the case from prosecution because of the passage of time) and returned the case to Bishop Corrada, instructing him to take the precautions he thought were appropriate. With some restrictions, Bishop Corrada restored priestly faculties to Msgr. Flynn in 2008.
In early 2018, Bishop Joseph E. Strickland ordered a thorough review of these matters. No new information came forward, but in light of the seriousness of the matter, Bishop Strickland removed Msgr. Flynn from priestly ministry.
Sadly, on Jan. 30, I was informed that the Diocese of Dallas will be including the name of Rev. Michael Barone, a retired priest of the Diocese of Tyler who is not currently in active ministry and does not reside in the Diocese of Tyler, on their list of those credibly accused. Father Barone was ordained for the Diocese of Dallas in 1975 and served there before becoming a priest of the Diocese of Tyler in 1987. The Diocese of Tyler is surprised at his inclusion because we are unaware of any credible allegations of abuse of a minor. Once additional information is received from the Diocese of Dallas, I will be presenting this case to our Review Board, in accord with our policies. Additionally, based on the determination of the Diocese of Dallas and in accord with Church law, Father Barone has been placed on administrative leave.
As I have said before, we have all been deeply hurt and saddened by the scandals in the Church. Please know that the Diocese of Tyler will do everything possible to prevent abuse of any kind. As your bishop, I am personally committed to this and I will support our priests and Page 3 deacons as we seek to joyfully live out our ministry in Jesus Christ.
I will also ensure that we are held to the standards of Christian virtues proclaimed by Jesus Christ.
May God, who is all-loving and all-merciful, watch over his Church and protect all of his people, especially the children and the vulnerable – the “little ones” for whom Christ the Lord has a special love.
The Diocese of Tyler oversees the Catholic Church in 33 East Texas counties.
MONSIGNOR JOHN FYLNN
Another person mentioned in Bishop Strickland's report was Monsignor John Flynn. Flynn's alleged acts were detailed in the report issued by the Archdiocese of San Antonio.
Flynn was ordained a priest in Ireland for the Archdiocese in 1952. In 1997, a female brought forth an allegation that Flynn had sexually abused her as a minor teenager in the 1960s and sexually assaulted her as a young adult in the 1970s.
The Archdiocese found this to be a credible allegation.
According to the report, in his initial statement to the parish, Archbishop Patrick Flores did not identify the survivor was a minor at the time of the abuse and appears to have made statements that left many people thinking that the victim had a lawyer and was contemplating a lawsuit, which was not the case.
While Archbishop Flores later clarified the abuse was child sexual abuse and apologized to the survivor for his words, the report released Thursday expresses the sorrow of the Archdiocese for the unnecessary additional pain caused by his communication, as well as for any resistance or resentment that it fostered or allowed in the community.
"Our shared responsibility and care must be for the survivor who was sexually abused as a child by an adult who violated a sacred religious trust," the Archdiocese said in a statement.
In 1997, Flynn resigned from his position as pastor of St. Matthew and retired from all ministry. Archbishop Flores removed his faculties and forbade him from exercising any priestly ministry. Nevertheless, Bishop Edmond Carmody, former auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese and then bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, soon thereafter assigned Flynn to ministry in the Diocese of Tyler.
In 1999, Archbishop Flores reaffirmed his order that Flynn not exercise any priestly ministry, and Flynn formally left the Archdiocese and joined the Diocese of Tyler.
According to a May 2002 article by the Longview News-Journal, in 1999, Bishop Carmody appointed Flynn as the parishioner of the new mission of St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Longview, which was established as a Catholic presence to draw parishioners from Pine Tree, White Oak, Greggton and Spring Hill.
In the process, Bishop Carmody was reminded of the allegation.
In 2005, Archbishop José Gomez, becoming aware of the matter, brought it to the attention of the new bishop of Tyler, Bishop Alvaro Corrada.
Bishop Corrada removed all priestly faculties from Flynn (who was asked to retire in 2002, but still ministering) and after conducting a preliminary investigation, he referred the matter to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In this case, the Congregation did not dispense from prescription (a canonical term barring the case from prosecution because of the passage of time) and returned the case to Bishop Corrada, instructing him to take the precautions he thought were appropriate.
With some restrictions, Bishop Corrada restored priestly faculties to Flynn in 2008. Since that time, the current bishop of Tyler, Bishop Strickland, has removed all faculties from Flynn and forbidden him from exercising any priestly ministry.
Since 1997, the archbishops of San Antonio have consistently forbidden Flynn from exercising any ministry in the Archdiocese.
REVEREND MICHAEL BARONE
The Diocese of Dallas released the name of Rev. Michael Barone, who retired from the Diocese of Tyler in 2017. The Diocese of Dallas removed him a year later.
His assignment history includes:
All Saints
Chaplain - Southern Methodist University
Holy Spirit - Duncanville
Our Lady of Victory - Paris
Sacred Heart - Nacogdoches
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
St. Elizabeth of Hungary
St. Francis of Assisi - Lancaster
St. Joseph - Richardson
St. Joseph Mission - Clarksville
St. Mark the Evangelist - Plano
According to Barone's LinkedIn page, he currently focuses on ministry to those who sail the seas with Apostleship of the Sea. He says he volunteers as a chaplain with the Holland America Line offering daily mass, confessions and tends to the spiritual needs of the crew.
The exact allegations made against Barone have not been disclosed.
The decision to publicly identify those accused was made on September 30, 2018, and was agreed upon by the 15 Catholic dioceses in Texas and the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
The release of names is part of an ongoing effort by the dioceses to provide a safer environment for children. The lists will be updated as new information becomes available.
Ex-Texas priest serving life sentence for sex abuse
Author: KYTX StaffTYLER, Texas — The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops ordered dioceses across the state to publicly release the names of priests credibly accused of child sexual abuse.
The lists brought to light the identities of clergy who never answered for their alleged crimes. However, it also highlighted some who were prosecuted, but may have been forgotten over time.
Gustave DeJesus Cuello
According to the Associated Press, Rev. Cuello was arrested in Smith County on April 12, 1997, for raping a female. Parishioners helped Cuello make bail and he was released on bond on April 14, 1997.
Arrrrgh! Parishioners can be real idiots with their faithfulness to priests and pastors who are raping their children. It seems, as long as it is not specifically their children, they will side with the lying pedophile over the abused children. No discernment there whatsoever.
At the same time, Alicia Barkley was working as a district attorney in Smith County. She was assigned to work the case against Cuello.
“It was a terrible case," Barkley remembered. "The abuse had been ongoing for a long time. It was a very sad case, and there was, I believe, a significant amount of evidence.”
In July of 2013, Cuello was formally indicted for the crime. Meanwhile, Barkley and the district attorney's office began to further investigate the allegations against Cuello to build their case.
"You’re trying to speak with every potential witness. You’re trying to just learn everything that you can about the case and about the allegations,” Barkley said. “I was met with a lot of resistance.”
Cuello was indicted for the crime on July 17, 1997. Before his next court appearance, Cuello fled the country to Ecuador.
“In 1997, we were preparing for trial to try him for aggravated assault of a child," Cuello said. "There was evidence that he had assistance in making that bail and in leaving the country. We did some significant searching for him, at that time, but we were not able to locate him, at that time.”
Barkley says the district attorney's office reached out to the Church for help finding Cuello. “At the time, in 1997, there was not a lot of assistance from the Church in attempting to apprehend him,” Barkley remembered.
In 2003, based on information provided by the FBI in Tyler to Ecuadorian officials, Cuello was taken into custody in Guayaguil, Ecuador. He was brought back to Smith County to face a jury. He ended up pleading guilty to the offense and was sentenced to life in prison.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Cuello was defrocked by the Vatican following his conviction.
He wasn't defrocked for skipping bail and avoiding prosecution?
Cuello, 55, is currently an inmate at the George Beto Unit in Palestine. He is eligible for parole in 2033, when he will be 70-years-old.
Barkley has since left the district attorney's office. She now works for the Family Law Firm in Tyler.
More than two decades after Cuello's original arrest, she believes the Catholic Church has come a long way in dealing with sexual abuse.
"I think that the steps that are being taken by the church are positive," Barkley said. "I think that it is more than timely, and I think that it is a step in the right direction that they are attempting to protect their parishioners."
Bishop addresses list of Baton Rouge-area priests accused of abuse: 'This list is not the end.'
BY CAROLINE GRUESKIN | CGRUESKIN@THEADVOCATE.COM
The bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge said releasing a list of clergy who have faced credible allegations of sexual abuse against minors or vulnerable adults is "not the end but an attempt to open the door on child sexual abuse that none of us want to open."
An allegation of sexual abuse is considered credible when the bishop believes that, after a careful investigation and upon the recommendation of the Diocesan Independent Review Board, an incident of sexual abuse occurred, or probably occurred, with the possibility that it did not occur being highly unlikely. Duca said he shared the list and information concerning the abuse with local law enforcement for review.
See the full list of clergy here.
"This list is not the final piece of 'dealing with this' but rather I see it as a beginning step in a foundational change in our Church’s way of acting that will renew all the programs we have in place to protect our children with a focus on the healing of the victims of abuse rather than the protection of the status quo," Duca said.
During the press conference, Duca responded to a comment from a man who identified as a survivor of clergy sexual abuse, who said the diocese had hidden the abuse for decades.
"It’s hard for me to answer for the past, but I can tell you there was a culture that was always trying to protect and somehow never allowed the voices of the victims to come forward," Duca said. "They were scared to even reach out to everyone, lest they have to pay lots of money, to be real honest. It was a closing down of things," Duca said.
Duca said that in preparing the list, he heard from people who wanted to "move beyond the crisis mode and get back to normal. But I have come to see quite clearly that in this thinking there is already a return to an old standard to once again 'sweep it under the carpet,'" he said.
Duca said he hopes the list will be a "concrete sign that we do want to talk about this."
He said that he hopes the list will be an "important step" in helping victims of sexual abuse who previously felt "betrayed and unsupported by the church" and that it might encourage them to tell trusted friends, family, counselors and even the bishop and "no longer bear the pain alone."
"My prayer is that this list will be a sign of a new level of transparency and openness in the way we respond to allegations of abuse and care for victims," he said.
He said the list is a dynamic document and will be added to if new allegations are made against clergy members in the diocese. Duca said the diocese will find a way to communicate those additions publicly.
Duca announced two recent allegations against people working in area parishes, which will be read on Sunday at their respective churches. Parishioners will be asked to contact the diocese's victim assistance coordinator if they were victims of such abuse or know of it.
In St. Aloysius Parish, the diocese recently received credible allegations of sexual abuse against altar boys by Everett Gauthier Sr., a volunteer worker there in the mid-1960s, Duca said.
In St. Thomas More Parish, the diocese is investigating an allegation of sexual abuse dating to the mid-1970s, but the victim is uncertain of the identify of the perpetrator, Duca said.
During the news conference, Duca encouraged victims of clergy sexual abuse to continue coming forward to the diocese's victim assistance coordinator.
"Right now I can honestly say, I am not aware of any hint or possibility that this is going on in our Diocese right now. No one has come to me with any kind of recent complaints. But part of our program in the best sense of the word is this has got to be, the church has got to have our eyes open all the time," Duca said.
Diocese of Corpus Christi releases names of priests 'credibly accused' of sexual abuse
Author: Jeremy Landers, Jonathan Munson
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Diocese of Corpus Christi is joining Texas Catholic dioceses from all over the state to release the names of priests that have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors dating back to 1950.
The groundbreaking decision between the bishops across the state was made in September of 2018 as an effort to restore trust in the Catholic Church and promote healing.
The list has been compiled over the last several months from 1,320 Catholic parishes in Texas. According to the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops the list will be updated with new information as it becomes available.
Below are the names listed released Thursday by the Diocese of Corpus Christi:
RELIGIOUS ORDER CLERICS & EXTERN CLERICS
(Clerics not from the Diocese of Corpus Christi)
Name: Bishop Joseph V. Sullivan
Date of Birth: 8/15/1919
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/1/1946 (Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph)
Episcopal ordination: 4/3/1967 (Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph; Diocese of Baton Rouge)
Extern cleric who visited the Diocese of Corpus Christi
Current Status: Deceased 9/4/1982
Name: Rev. Russell Gerard Appleby, MSF
Date of Birth: 10/3/1934
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 3/26/1966 (Missionaries of the Holy Family)
Current Status: Removed from ministry in Diocese of Corpus Christi, September 1983
Name: Rev. Robert J. Bedrosian, MSF
Date of Birth: 7/7/1937
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination:3/26/1965 (Missionaries of the Holy Family)
Current Status: Left Diocese of Corpus Christi 1979
Left Missionaries of the Holy Family order 1982
Name: Rev. John M. Fiala, SOLT
Date of Birth: 10/14/1960
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/2/1984 (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity)
Current Status: Criminal conviction (I): 5/17/12
Criminal conviction (II): 12/2/2014
Deceased 2017
Name: Rev. Edward J. Horan, SOLT
Date of Birth: 3/1/1918
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/27/1987 (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity)
Current Status: Retired 1996
Deceased 1997
Name: Rev. Patrick Koch, SJ
Date of Birth: 11/8/1927
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/12/1957 (Society of Jesus)
Current Status: Left Diocese of Corpus Christi 1966
Deceased 9/9/2006
Name: Rev. Eusebio (“Chevy”) Pantoja, CMF
Date of Birth: Unknown
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 1968 (Claretian Missionaries)
Current Status: Removed from ministry in Diocese of Corpus Christi 1980
Expelled from Claretian Order 1980
Name: Rev. Alfredo Prado, OMI
Date of Birth: 1930
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 1958 (Oblate of Mary Immaculate)
Current Status: Suspended 1991
Name: Rev. Christopher Joseph Springer, CSSR
Date of Birth: 11/7/1925
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/26/1952 (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer)
Current Status: Left Diocese of Corpus Christi 1971
CLERICS FROM OR INCARDINATED INTO THE DIOCESE OF CORPUS CHRISTI
Name: Rev. Jerome Caponi
Date of Birth: 9/15/1925
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/11/1960 (Order of St. Benedict)
Incardinated into Diocese of Corpus Christi 1971
Excardinated from Diocese of Corpus Christi 1982
Current Status: Left Diocese of Corpus Christi 1982
Deceased 2/27/2009
Name: Msgr. Hugh Clarke
Date of Birth: 12/30/1924
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 7/16/ 1950 (Dublin, Ireland)
Incardinated into Diocese of Corpus Christi 8/15/1975
Current Status: Retired 1997
Deceased 12/16/2002
Name: Rev. William Daly
Date of Birth: 4/21/1924
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/17/1957 (Ordained in Dublin, Ireland for the Diocese of Corpus Christi)
Current Status: Left Diocese of Corpus Christi 1971
Deceased 11/9/1982
Name: Rev. Domingo De Llano
Date of Birth: 10/19/1939
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 5/28/1966 (Ordained in Laredo, TX for the Diocese of Corpus Christi)
Current Status: Retired 1999
Deceased 5/4/2013
Name: Rev. Steven T. Dougherty
Date of Birth: 10/11/1956
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/14/2003 (Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity)
Incardinated into Diocese of Corpus Christi 7/8/2008
Current Status: Removed from ministry 12/16/2011
Criminal conviction: 2/28/2018
Name: Rev. John J. Feminelli
Date of Birth: 10/12/1946
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/6/1987 (Corpus Christi, TX)
Current Status: Retired 4/16/2007
Name: Rev. Adelhard M. Francois
Date of Birth: Unknown
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 2/24/1935, Wuerzburg, Bavaria (Mariannhill Missionary Society)
Incardinated into Diocese of Corpus Christi: 1/14/1950
Current Status: Left Diocese of Corpus Christi 1959
Name: Rev. J. Frank Gomez
Date of Birth: 10/28/1928
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 5/27/1961 (Corpus Christi, TX)
Excardinated from Diocese of Corpus Christi 1965
Current Status: Left Diocese of Corpus Christi 1965
Name: Rev. Clement Hageman
Date of Birth: Unknown
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/10/1930, St. Meinrad, IN
Current Status: Removed from ministry in Diocese of Corpus Christi April 1939
Deceased 7/2/1975
Name: Msgr. Michael Heras
Date of Birth: 6/7/1958
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/15/1984 (Corpus Christi, TX)
Current Status: Removed from ministry 6/24/2014
Name: Rev. Jesus Garcia Hernando
Date of Birth: 10/7/1960
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/22/1984, Burgos, Spain
Incardinated into Diocese of Corpus Christi: 1/10/1994
Excardinated from Diocese of Corpus Christi: 2/11/2000
Current Status: Removed from ministry 9/15/1994
Name: Rev. Flover Antonio Osorio Herrera
Date of Birth: 10/7/1954
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 3/19/1985 (Diocese of Villavicencio, Meta, Columbia)
Incardinated into Diocese of Corpus Christi 12/4/2003
Current Status: Removed from ministry 10/29/2007
Name: Rev. Peter J. Hughes
Date of Birth: Unknown
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/10/1956 (Ordained in Carlow, Ireland for the Diocese of Corpus Christi)
Current Status: Left Diocese of Corpus Christi 1963
Deceased 12/7/1990
Name: Msgr. William J. Kelly
Date of Birth: 10/11/1916
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/24/1944 (Ordained in Dublin, Ireland for the Diocese of Corpus Christi)
Current Status: Deceased 3/12/1983
Name: Msgr. William C. Kinlough
Date of Birth: 8/29/1918
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 6/20/1943 (Ordained in Ireland for the Diocese of Corpus Christi)
Current Status: Retired 1999
Deceased 9/29/2000
Name: Rev. Msgr. Thomas Meany
Date of Birth: 5/12/1928
Ordination & Prior Status: Ordination: 5/31/1955 (Corpus Christi, TX)
Current Status: Retired 2004
Deceased 7/20/2008
Name: Rev. Robert Trevino
Date of Birth: 11/10/1958
Ordination & Prior Status:
Ordination: 12/28/1985 (Corpus Christi, TX)
Current Status: Removed from ministry 1995
Laicized 12/6/2012
Here's a list of every pedophile priest reported by Texas Dioceses
Corpus Christi Bishop Michael Mulvey sat down for a one-on-one interview with Kiii News Anchor Joe Gazin to discuss the release of the names and what it means for the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
“This is an action in response to the faithful’s call for greater accountability and transparency,” said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston. "Every bishop in our state has made a statement expressing his concern for all who have been hurt and I want to express my personal sorrow at such fundamental violations of trust that have happened. We are completely committed to eradicating the evil of sexual abuse in the church and promoting healing among the faithful and those injured by this crime.”
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops say by releasing the names of priests that this decision is just part of a continuing effort to provide an even safer environment for children. The group has organized a plan of action to help prevent the sexual abuse of minors by implementing policies and practices in each diocese in Texas.
