BishopAccountability.org

Archdiocese here acknowledges it took in priest suspended in Chicago

By Elaine Ayala
San Antonio Express-News
August 22, 2016

http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/National-group-take-aim-at-archdiocese-9178383.php

U.S. Rep. Gutierrez of Illinois, standing, poses with Father Marco Mercado, the former rector of the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Des Plaines who is now at a South Side parish seeking a formal transfer to the Archdiocese of San Antonio, in a photo tweeted from Capitol Hill Sept. 24, 2015 before the two men attended Pope Francis' address to Congress. Father Mercado was removed from his ministry for an "inappropriate relationship with an adult man" a week before the image was taken.

A national organization leading efforts to expose the sexual abuse of children by priests has turned its attention to the Archdiocese of San Antonio for giving refuge to a Chicago priest removed from ministry last fall for an “inappropriate relationship with an adult man.”

Now at a South Side parish and seeking a formal transfer to the archdiocese here, Father Marco Mercado has been assigned to hospital ministry but his duties might expand in the future, according to a statement Monday from Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller.

“Father Marco Antonio Lopez Mercado, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago, is in residence at St. Lawrence Church in San Antonio,” the statement said.

“Following his removal from ministry in his last assignment in Chicago, we have conducted our own independent review of the facts and, following that effort, as well as the counseling Father Marco has undertaken and his acceptance of responsibility in the situation in question, we are satisfied that he is suitable for ministry here,” García-Siller’s statement said.

“We are working very closely with Father Marco through this process of rehabilitation as he seeks to gradually assume additional responsibilities in ministry in this part of the church in South Texas.”

The archdiocese would not answer further questions about the case, including the age of the man with whom Mercado had a relationship, whether he was a member of Mercado’s former parish, or if the archdiocese’s inquiry included contacting the man to ask his view of his relationship with Mercado.

The three-paragraph announcement came after the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests emailed a statement about the Catholic hierarchy’s handling of the case, accusing Archbishops Blase Cupich and García-Siller of “doing what bishops have done for decades: splitting hairs and making excuses instead of protecting parishioners.”

SNAP’s statement predicted that the church’s response to Mercado “will deter other victims, witnesses and whistleblowers from stepping forward” in cases of sexual abuse by priests.

“Every sexual contact between a Catholic cleric and a Catholic parishioner is, by definition, improper and unhealthy, in part because of the huge power differential between the two,” said SNAP director David Clohessy in the statement.

Clohessy accused García-Siller of “protecting a colleague's career and pretending to have ‘investigated,’ when we strongly suspect he hasn’t even contacted Father Mercado’s victim.”

Mercado was rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines and was reportedly a popular priest. In late October, parishioners presented the Chicago archdiocese 5,000 signatures seeking the priest’s reinstatement.

At the time of his suspension, Mercado issued a statement, reported by the Chicago Tribune, that said: “As a human being I am not perfect, but as a priest my priority has always been the work of the Gospel and the struggle for immigrants and the most vulnerable.”

Mercado also said, “I pray that this issue is resolved soon, and I ask for your prayers, at the same time that I apologize if this scandal has caused any hardship to the faithful.”

Contact: eayala@express-news.net




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