Snap, Lawyer Hold Press Conference in Front of Diocese of Monterey Offices
By James Herrera
A representative of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and a Sacramento attorney/psychologist, held a press conference in front of the Diocese of Monterey offices in Monterey to call attention to two issues they see as hurting victims of clergy sexual abuse. David Clohessy of Missouri, former SNAP director and survivor of sexual abuse by a priest, and Joseph George, a lawyer who has represented many abuse victims, were calling attention to what they see as an incomplete list of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of children over many years in the Monterey diocese. The duo also stated their shared skepticism of the soon-to-be-formed victim pay-out programs being adopted by bishops in six dioceses. “It’s important to help break through the veneer of so-called transparency that church officials claim,” said Clohessy. “For centuries the Catholic hierarchy has burnished an image and now enjoys far too much of an unhealthy degree of trust.” But the Diocese of Monterey believes that some of the topics discussed at Wednesday’s SNAP press conference were not related to Monterey specifically but the dioceses as a whole. “The two areas that do relate to the Diocese of Monterey include SNAP’s assertion that some priests were not included in the list of credibly accused clergy that Bishop Wilkerson released on Jan. 2, 2019 and the introduction of a formerly unknown victim of Rev. William Allison,” said Erika Yanez, Monterey diocese spokeswoman. A northern California man has come forward with an accusation of molestation by Rev. Allison when he was a child attending San Carlos Catholic School in Monterey. The man, who reportedly is not ready to be publicly identified, has recently filed an official report about the abuse with State Attorney General Xavier Beccera. In it he asserts he witnessed other children being abused as well by the priest. “The victim is urging others who were hurt at the school to come forward and contact law enforcement and support groups like SNAP,” said Clohessy. Rev. Allison was included on the Diocese of Monterey’s Report of Credible Allegations. He was alleged to have committed sexual abuse acts in 1964, 1966, and 1969 that were eventually reported in 2003. Allison died in 1987. Allison was also credibly accused in Arizona, Louisiana and New Mexico. “We are sorry to hear that there is a formerly alleged victim of Fr. Allison, and we encourage him to come forward and report to law enforcement and contact our victims’ assistance coordinator,” said Yanez. In November, Attorney General Becerra invited clergy abuse victims from across the state to come forward with information, and in early May the Attorney General’s Office broadened its inquiry by asking all 12 Catholic dioceses in California to either preserve or hand over documents related to abuse handling. By mid-May, six California dioceses including the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and the Dioceses of Fresno, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino and San Diego committed to a new compensation program for abuse victims. SNAP is highly skeptical of the new pay-out programs that, it says, requires victims to “sign away their legal rights,” forbids the victim from suing church officials, and keeps child sex abuse and cover-up cases out of court. The abuse victim organization believes the compensation program is more about protecting the Catholic hierarchy than about helping the church’s victims. The organization hopes Diocese of Monterey Bishop Daniel Garcia moves slowly before adopting or signing on to a compensation program. Yanez said the Monterey diocese is not considering joining the program at this time. Clohessy said that the Monterey Diocese report overlooked three priests who should have been on the credibly accused list – Rev. Monsignor Charles Fatooh, Rev. Gerald Funcheon and Rev. Lynn Caffoe. According to SNAP, Rev. Fatooh was ordained a priest in Monterey in 1985, and served as chancellor and moderator of the curia for the Monterey diocese from 1990 to 1991, and again from 1993 to 2003. From 1995 to 2005, he was Msgr. of St. Francis Xavier Church in Seaside, and from 2006 to 2018, at St. Joseph’s Church in Cayucos. Yanez said Rev. Fatooh was accused of molesting a student at Chaminade High School in West Hills, in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, while he was a Marianist Brother, from 1973 to 1974. The alleged victim filed a lawsuit and completed a claim as part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ global settlement. When the Diocese of Monterey learned of this allegation, it conducted an investigation, but the alleged victim refused to participate. As there is no substantial evidence, this allegation has been classified as non-credible. The Diocese of Monterey’s Report of Credible Allegations states that through various sources there are other names that have been reported as associated with the Diocese of Monterey that are not included on the list. Those include religious or extern priests who were not ministering in the name of the Diocese of Monterey, were not assigned by the bishop of Monterey but rather working in the name of their religious orders and priests of the Diocese of Monterey-Fresno where the abuse is alleged to have occurred in what is now the Diocese of Fresno. Fr. Funcheon was a religious order priest who worked at Palma School during the early 1980s. His order provided the diocese with a letter of good standing and he was under the supervision of Palma School whose administration the diocese has no authority over as it was owned and operated by the Irish Christian Brothers. Funcheon is not included on the Diocese of Monterey’s list of credibly accused priests because he is a religious order priest who was not ministering in the name of the Diocese of Monterey but was under the authority of his religious order and an independent, Catholic entity located in geographical territory of the Diocese of Monterey, according to the Diocese of Monterey. According to SNAP, Fr. Caffoe was ordained in 1971 and worked in churches throughout California for the following two decades. In 1991 his ministry was reportedly “restricted” and from 1991 to 1993 he was at a church-run treatment program in Maryland. From 1998 to 2003, he had assignments that included Salinas. In 2004, his name was included on the Los Angeles Archdioceses’ list of priests accused of sexual misconduct involving minors. Caffoe was laicized in 2006, accused of abuse in a lawsuit in 2007 that settled out of court, and died in 2009. “Rev. Lynn Caffoe is not a priest of the Diocese of Monterey and has no association with the Diocese of Monterey. We do not know where he served,” said Yanez. The Diocese of Monterey was part of the Monterey-Fresno Diocese until 1967 and now encompasses four Central Coast counties: Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and San Luis Obispo. The Diocese of Fresno has not yet completed its list of credibly-accused priests. “We are working hard and remain committed to assure our community that we are making every effort to ensure the safety of children and young people under our care as well as assist victims of sexual misconduct,” said Yanez. According to Yanez, those who feel they are the victim of sexual misconduct involving anyone associated with the Church in Monterey, should report to law enforcement and then to the Diocese. Incidents may be reported to the Moderator of the Curia and Vicar General, Fr. Peter Crivello, the Chancellor, Deacon Hugo Patino or to the Victim’s Assistance Coordinator, Rio Castillo. Fr. Crivello and Deacon Patino may be reached at 831-373-4345 or via email to pcrivello@dioceseofmonterey.org or hpatino@dioceseofmonterey.org. Castillo may be reached at 1-800-321-5220 or rcastillo@dioceseofmonterey.org , according to Yanez.
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