Suits Allege Sex Abuse by Ariz. Priests

By Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
June 25, 2013

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A dozen victims have filed lawsuits in Coconino County Superior Court alleging they were sexually abused by six Arizona priests who worked in the Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., between 1942 and 1977.

The lawsuits, all filed since Jan. 1, claim the abuse took place in parishes in Flagstaff, Winslow, Holbrook and the Verde Valley.

The package of cases is believed to be the largest single group of priest-abuse lawsuits currently active in the United States, according to Terence McKiernan, president of bishopaccountability.org, a website that has documented abuse in the Catholic Church in the United States since 2003.

In addition to the cases filed this year, another active case was filed in 2012, and as many as a dozen other allegations were settled out of court.