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Guam priest, Cristobal, defrocked following sexual abuse allegations
Steve Limtiaco
Pacific Daily News USA TODAY NETWORK
In this 2014 photo, Father Adrian Cristobal gives an opening prayer at All Souls' Day Mass
at Guam Memorial Park in Barrigada.
Adrian Cristobal is no longer is a priest, according to the Archdiocese of Agana, which stated Cristobal was laicized by Archbishop Michael Byrnes "for violations against the Sixth Commandment with minors."
The Sixth Commandment prohibits adultery.
Cristobal is among nearly two dozen priests named in clergy sex abuse lawsuits filed on Guam since 2016. He is also among the few accused priests still alive.
The Archdiocese in 2018 sanctioned Cristobal, who is off-island, after he failed to return to Guam after being named as a defendant in several child sexual abuse lawsuits. He has been accused in four different sex abuse lawsuits.
The archdiocese held a Vatican-authorized administrative penal process, or investigation, after four men alleged that Cristobal sexually abused them when they were minors.
According to the archdiocese, the investigation, which started in 2018, concluded in December 2020, and Cristobal no longer can wear ecclesiastical clothing or be addressed by titles used by ordained priests, such as father or reverend.
“He is deprived of clerical offices, functions, and any designated power granted to him as a cleric. He has no right to financial support from the Archdiocese of Agana,” the archdiocese stated.
The archdiocese stated it will not comment further on the matter because of ongoing litigation. The church is a defendant in dozens of child sex abuse civil lawsuits naming Guam priests.
The archdiocese in September 2016 reassigned Cristobal from the Barrigada church, which was the location of much of the alleged abuse, to Umatac. Cristobal at the time sent an open letter to parishioners, stating he was denied due process before being transferred.
Cristobal later was sent to Canada to study canon law and to a mission in Phoenix, Arizona, but did not return to Guam by a June 2018 deadline set by the Archdiocese, news files state.
Here are the allegations against Cristobal, according to lawsuits. The accusers are identified in court documents only by their initials:
J.E.: Said Cristobal sexually molested and abused him when he served as an altar boy at San Vicente Ferrer/San Roke Catholic Church in Barrigada from about 1995 to 1997. He was about 10 to 12 years old at the time.
J.C.C.: "Over a period of more than 15 years, from approximately 1995 thru 2013, starting at the age of 11, and ending at the age of about 25, J.C.C. was repeatedly sexually molested and abused by Fr. Adrian," the lawsuit states. "The sexual abuse included fondling, groping, masturbation, oral copulation, digital penetration and penetration." The abuse, according to the lawsuit, happened at several places, including San Vicente School, Barrigada parish, Maina parish, Cristobal's residence and in his vehicle, as well as at his private beach in Ipan.
D.D.D.: Alleges Cristobal sexually abused him from about early 2008 to 2010, when he was about 12 to 14 years old. D.D.D. was a volunteer for the San Vicente Ferrer/San Roke Catholic Church in Barrigada, where Cristobal was the parish priest. "During the entire two-year period when he served as a volunteer, plaintiff was sexually molested and abused every Saturday, without fail, by Adrian," the lawsuit states.
L.J.C: Alleges Cristobal sexually molested and abused L.J.C. when the boy was about 12 through 14 years old, from 1995 to 1997. The lawsuit states L.J.C. was an altar boy at San Vicente Ferrer/San Roke Catholic Church when Cristobal was a priest there. The alleged abuse happened in the Barrigada parish's office after Mass, at a private beach in Ipan during a retreat, and after a funeral Mass, the lawsuit states.
Vatican clears retired U.S. bishop of abuse claims
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New bishop very disappointed
By Nicole Winfield
The Associated Press
ROME (AP) — The Vatican has cleared a retired U.S. bishop of multiple allegations he sexually abused minors and teenagers, rejecting lay experts' determination that a half-dozen claims were credible and instead slapping him on the wrist for what it called “flagrant" imprudent behavior.
I wonder if Bishops and Cardinals believe that paedophile priests actually tell the truth?
In this 1988 file photo Rev. Joseph Hart dispenses communion during an outdoor Mass celebrated for participants of the Basque Festival in Buffalo, Wyo. On Tuesday, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith cleared Hart of seven accusations of abuse, determined that five others couldn't be proven 'with moral certitude' and that two cases involving boys, who were 16 and 17, couldn't be prosecuted given the Catholic Church didn't consider them minors at the time of the alleged abuse, the diocese said. (AP Photo/Dean Wariner, File)
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith exonerated retired Cheyenne, Wyoming Bishop Joseph Hart of seven accusations abuse and determined that five others couldn’t be proven “with moral certitude.” Two other cases involving boys, who were 16 and 17, couldn’t be prosecuted given the Catholic Church didn’t consider them minors at the time of the alleged abuse, the diocese reported Monday. A 13th allegation wasn’t addressed in the decree.
Hart was a priest in Kansas City, Missouri, for 21 years before moving to Wyoming, where he served as auxiliary and then full bishop from 1976 until his retirement in 2001. The first known allegations against Hart dated to the early 1960s and were made in the late 1980s. At least six men came forward in the past few years to say Hart abused them in Wyoming.
Hart, 89, had long maintained his innocence and denied all allegations of misconduct.
The Vatican decision clearly disappointed Hart’s successor, Bishop Steven Biegler, who stressed that the Vatican’s findings didn’t mean Hart was innocent, just that the Holy See determined that the high burden of proof hadn’t been met.
Biegler has previously stood by the findings of his review board, which determined a half-dozen claims were credible. And a diocesan statement noted the qualifications of its members: “law enforcement; school administration; a doctor of psychology; a pediatrician; a psychotherapist, who treats sexually abused children; and a judge, who was a criminal prosecutor for 13 years involving crimes against children, primarily child sexual abuse.”
On the other hand, the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, or CDF, relies on the judgment of priests and bishop canon lawyers, and ultimately the pope. The Vatican for decades has been blasted by victims’ groups for giving bishops a pass when they have been accused of sexual abuse themselves or of covering it up.
A few exceptions have been made in recent years, most famously in the case of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was defrocked after the CDF determined he had abused minors as well as adults, including during confession — essentially the same allegations against Hart.
As a result, the sentence showed the arbitrary nature of Vatican’s canonical sex abuse deliberations and judgments, which aren't public. Hart’s previous diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph reached court settlements years ago with at least 10 victims. But Wyoming criminal prosecutors also decided last year not to proceed with charging Hart.
Anne Barrett Doyle, of the online resource BishopAccountability.org, said the Vatican ruling was “heartbreaking and disgraceful" and showed that church law is biased in favor of priests and bishops.
“Defenders of canon law might point to the punishment of ex-cardinal McCarrick as evidence that the system works. But for every McCarrick, there are five Harts: bishops who retain their titles and pensions in the face of multiple allegations," she said in an email, adding that the ruling calls into question Pope Francis' vow to hold bishops accountable.
In its decree, the CDF rebuked Hart “for his flagrant lack of prudence as a priest and bishop for being alone with minors in his private residence and on various trips which could have been potential occasions endangering the ‘obligation to observe continence’ and that would ‘give rise to scandal among the faithful,'” the diocese said.
Hart was also rebuked for failing to observe previous Vatican restrictions prohibiting him from having contact with minors and seminarians and from participating in public engagements, the diocese said, adding that those restrictions remain in place.
“Today, I want the survivors to know that I support and believe you” Biegler said in a statement. “I understand that this announcement will not bring closure to the survivors, their family members, Bishop Hart and all those affected.”
Richmond Diocese deems child sex abuse claims against priest
'not credible'
By: WTVR CBS 6 Web Staff
Posted at 1:43 PM, Jan 28, 2021
RICHMOND, Va. -- Bishop Barry Knestout of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond reported Thursday that allegations of child sexual abuse made against one former priest were not credible.
The report came after a lengthy investigation by the Diocesan Review Board into the claims made against former priest Thomas Long.
A report of the allegations against Long was received by the Catholic Diocese of Richmond in June 2020. Those allegations were then reported to authorities.
The diocese launched an internal investigation of the allegations and the information they found was presented to the Diocesan Review Board, who then reported their findings to Knestout.
The diocese said his name will not be added to the list of clergy that have credible and substantiated allegations against them.
"Just as the diocese strives to remain transparent when child sexual abuse allegations are brought forward, the diocese will also publicly clear the accused of any wrongdoing when an accused is subjected to unsupported allegations," a spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond wrote in an email.
In February 2019, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond released the names of 42 priests with credible allegations of child sexual abuse after an internal investigation.
The investigation was prompted by Attorney General Mark Herring, who had announced he was looking into reports of priest abuse in the state the previous year.
Long voluntarily left active ministry in 1988.
Former Boy Scouts Chaplain Gets 40 Years for Sex Abuse of Child with Developmental Disabilities, 5 Others
By Jeff Truesdell
January 29, 2021 04:11 PM
A former volunteer camp chaplain for the Boy Scouts of America who sexually abused multiple victims, including a developmentally disabled teen, has been sentenced to 40 years in a Rhode Island prison after pleading no contest to his crimes.
James Glawson, 76, faced 11 counts of first-degree sexual assault against six young men, five in the 1980s during his time as a Scout leader, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Thursday.
Rhode Island State Police began investigating Glawson in January 2019 after staff at the group home reported inappropriate contact between him and an 18-year-old resident, according to the attorney general's office. The resident later told investigators he'd been assaulted by Glawson multiple times over several years.
Glawson admitted to those assaults and, while being questioned, said he'd victimized several other young men during the 1980s while with the Boy Scouts organization, said the attorney general's office. The five additional victims came forward during further investigation.
His sentence comes amid a reckoning for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), which has been hit with more than 92,000 claims of alleged sexual abuse after declaring bankruptcy in 2019 "in order to restructure its nonprofit organization and pay sexual abuse survivors," according to a court-appointed claims agent.
"It makes me sick to think of what I have done," Glawson told Judge Melanie Wilk Thunberg on Thursday during his plea hearing, reports The Providence Journal.
The judge issued a sentence of 60 years, but only 40 to be served in prison, with the balance suspended with probation.
OK, but he's 76, there isn't going to be a balance after 40 years!
Glawson said he prayed for forgiveness and thanked "the grace of God," while adding that he takes medication to "relieve me of some of my evil urges."
"I pray each day for God's help to help heal those that I hurt so badly and to give them comfort for the shame that I have caused," he said.
Good response!
According to police, Glawson, of Exeter, served as an assistant Catholic chaplain at a Scouts camp in Hopkinton while volunteering for the organization from 1980 to 2018.
"Every day, parents and guardians entrust the well-being of their children to others, to provide care and/or recreational opportunities," Neronha said in a written statement. "When a person abuses that trust, and sexually assaults a child whose safety has been entrusted to them, we know the consequences — they are severe and long-lasting."
"The defendant's criminal conduct here, over a long period of time and involving multiple sexual assaults against multiple victims, warrants the long sentence imposed by the court," he said.
In a statement issued after the sentencing, the BSA, which said it permanently banned Glawson in 2019, added that his behavior "is reprehensible and runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands," reports The New York Times.
Sexual abuse survivors were given until Nov. 16, 2020, to file claims against the BSA in the organization's bankruptcy case.
In a statement last November to PEOPLE addressing those claims, the BSA said, "We are devastated by the number of lives impacted by past abuse in Scouting and moved by the bravery of those who came forward. We are heartbroken that we cannot undo their pain."
"We intentionally developed an open, accessible process to reach survivors and help them take an essential step toward receiving compensation," the organization continued. "The response we have seen from survivors has been gut-wrenching. We are deeply sorry."
The statement added, "Now that all claims have been filed, the next step will be for third-party advisors to review the claims in order to uphold the integrity of the process, while the national organization works to develop a plan of reorganization to fund the proposed Trust. We are committed to working as expeditiously as possible to provide survivors of abuse with equitable compensation."
California Bishops Asking Judge To Throw Out
2019 Clergy Sex Abuse Law
January 28, 2021 at 9:23 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP/CBS13) — Most California Roman Catholic bishops are asking a judge to throw out a 2019 law that allowed accusers of clergy sexual abuse to sue even if they were molested decades ago.
Motions filed this month in southern and northern superior courts ask judges to rule Assembly Bill 218 unconstitutional. Among the arguments was the assertion that the amount of time that had passed could make it harder for the defense to gather evidence.
California is one of at least 15 states that have extended the window for people to sue institutions over long-ago abuse, leading to thousands of new cases.
In 2019, California provided a three-year period that began on Jan. 1 of last year permitting suits in cases that exceeded the statute of limitations.
The law also extended the age of people who could sue for childhood sexual abuse from 26 to 40 after the extension expires and allowed triple damages in cases where abuse resulted from a “cover-up” of previous assaults by an employee or volunteer.
About 100 cases have been or are expected to be filed since then but attorney John Manly, who has handled some of them, said there eventually could be 500 to 1,500 cases filed involving the church and thousands more involving other institutions such as school districts.
The motions challenging AB2018 were filed on behalf of the archbishop of Los Angeles — which heads the nation’s largest archdiocese with some 5 million parishioners in several counties — as well as the archbishop of San Francisco and the bishops of Orange, Fresno, Monterey, Oakland, Sacramento, San Jose and Santa Rosa.
The motion filed in Alameda County argues that the law revives “long-expired claims” that already had been revived under a 2003 extension, “making it inevitable that witnesses will have died, memories faded, and documents may have been lost. This reality absolutely impairs the defendants’ ability to defend themselves.”
The motion filed in Los Angeles argued that the law “seeks to correct an injustice that does not exist with regard to the church defendants,” adding that “the Legislature had no evidence of widespread abuse after 2003 and no evidence of cover-up.”
The bishops have “’great remorse for crimes committed against victims” and have made reforms, the motion said.
But Manly called the motions “morally reprehensible and hypocritical. The church was well aware that they had a massive molestation problem by priests,” Manly said. “They systematically violated reporting laws … lied to the families, lied to the media, lied to the faithful. Now what they are saying is, ‘Don’t allow our victims to hold us accountable.’”
Priests who molested children committed “emotional murder,” Manly argued. “There’s no statute of limitations on murder … on kidnapping. There shouldn’t be a statue of limitations for child molestation.”
Exactly. And the church, if they had any real faith and sense, would want to suffer for their sins in this life rather than waiting before the stand before Jesus Christ.
The California church already paid more than $1.2 billion to hundreds of victims to settle claims made during the 2003 extension.
In 2019, The Associated Press estimated that a wave of new laws in 15 states allowing people to make claims of sexual abuse going back decades could lead to thousands of new cases and more than $4 billion in payouts.
Last June, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops said the church had tallied more than 4,400 sex abuse allegations against clergy in the 2018-19 audit year — triple the number from the previous year.
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