Group Demands San Gabriel Mission Church Rescind Award to Former Priest with Past Molestation Claim
By Christopher Yee
Representatives from a group advocating for justice for victims of sexual abuse by church leaders are calling for the San Gabriel Mission Church to retract an award intended to be given to an embattled former parish pastor. According to a weekly bulletin, San Gabriel Mission Church intends to honor Bruce Wellems at its May 25 “Build the Dreams” scholarship fundraising dinner. Actor Edward James Olmos is also set to be honored at the dinner. Wellems, a Roman Catholic priest originally from Chicago who was a member of the Claretian Missionaries, served as parish pastor in San Gabriel from 2012 to 2014 until he abruptly resigned. Following his resignation, members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) published documents indicating Wellems admitted to sexually abusing another boy when he was 15 years old. In accordance with its zero-tolerance policy on sexual abuse, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles removed Wellems as a minister for its churches. Wellems returned to Chicago where he continued ministering until May, when in light of the abuse case, the Chicago Archdiocese declined to reinstate him to active ministry. In a letter sent to Archbishop Jose Gomez of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, as well as to the cardinal of the Chicago Archdiocese and the head of the USA Claretian province, two leaders of SNAP demanded that San Gabriel Mission Church rescind the award to Wellems, issue an apology to Wellems’ alleged victim, Eric Johnson, and conduct sexual abuse prevention and sensitivity outreach at the church. “To honor a man like Bruce Wellems is tone deaf and utterly callous,” the group said in the letter written by SNAP Managing Director Barb Dorris and Western Regional leader Joelle Casteix Dorris. Reached by phone Friday, Wellems said he would not comment on SNAP’s letter. He also would not say whether he intends to attend the May fundraiser in San Gabriel, or whether he has resigned from priesthood. Several phone messages left for the Claretians headquarters regarding Wellems’ status within its order were not returned. The Mission Church’s current pastor, Father Tony Diaz, said the Los Angeles Archdiocese had given the church permission to honor Wellems because the scholarship fundraiser was a non-religious event. Adrian Alarcon, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, said no such permission was given. “We wanted to honor him because he was one of the founding members for this event, helping youths build a dream for education,” Diaz said. Parishioners of the church previously defended Wellems, showing up when SNAP spoke outside the Mission Church in 2014. “I would trust my son’s life with him,” lifelong parishioner Irene Marcinska said. “You are trying to find something where there is not anything. I know he is innocent.” Officials with the Claretian Missionary Fathers previously said there were no allegations filed against Wellems during his time as a priest, including the decades he spent in Latino communities of Chicago creating programs designed to help keep teens from joining gangs. But Johnson, who said Wellems molested him as a boy, said he reached out to the Chicago Archdiocese decades ago to tell them of his abuse. Johnson is now 51 years old and raising a family in Colorado. He is currently suing the Claretian Missionairies in an attempt to secure the release of its internal file on Wellems, with the intent of securing information on any other potential victims. Johnson said he was shocked to hear the San Gabriel Mission Church was honoring Wellems given the circumstances in which he left San Gabriel. “Whether the church is involved (in the fundraiser) or not, not only has this guy molested me, he admitted it to the Archdiocese,” Johnson said. “Seriously, have some common sense about it.”
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