Vatican Orders Investigation into Former Las Cruces Bishop

KFOX
November 18, 2020

https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/vatican-orders-investigation-into-former-las-cruces-bishop

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — Catholic officials in Rome have ordered an investigation into former Las Cruces Bishop, Oscar Cantu, over his handling of cases of clergy sexual abuse, according to the Catholic News Agency.

The investigation is being carried out under the provisions of Vos estis lux mundi, Pope Francis’ 2019 law for holding bishops accountable in the handling of sexual abuse cases.

Senior sources in the Vatican told CNA that the investigation was ordered by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, in October and that the allegations concern Cantu’s handling of abuse and misconduct cases in his former diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Cantu is now Bishop of San Jose, California.

One senior official in the Vatican congregation, who spoke to CNA on condition of anonymity because the investigation is confidential, said that Pope Francis has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy with regard to American bishops’ handling of clerical sexual misconduct.

“The Holy Father is absolutely firm that cases of abuse will not be tolerated. He is also firm that bishops must treat all of these cases with complete seriousness,” the official said.

The investigation into Bishop Cantu concerns alleged actions or inactions in cases of clerical sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Las Cruces, where Cantu served as bishop from 2013 to 2018.

A second Vatican official emphasized to CNA that Vos estis investigations are preliminary and that no formal charges have been brought as yet.

“This is not a trial – not a trial,” he stressed. “The bishop has every presumption of innocence and remains in office, as is proper. The process will continue and develop as is appropriate.”

Both officials declined to comment on the specific accusations against Cantu, or whether they concern any clergy still in ministry.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of San Jose told CNA Monday evening that “Bishop Cantu has not been notified of any inquiry regarding this matter.”

The Diocese of Las Cruces has faced multiple accusations of sexual abuse against clergy, dating back decades.

In February 2019, after Cantu had left the diocese, it ordered the public release of thousands of pages of diocesan records concerning 28 priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

Also in February last year, the diocese announced that chancery officials had voluntarily handed over diocesan personnel files to the New Mexico Attorney General and that they had discovered that an additional 13 priests were the subject of credible accusations in other dioceses.

The Diocese of Las Cruces was erected in 1982; many of the priests who have served in the diocese were sent there on a temporary or permanent transfer from other U.S. dioceses, or by religious orders.

The diocese maintains an updated list of clergy credibly accused of abuse and, as recently as August, Bishop Peter Baldacchino acted to remove faculties from a retired priest over historical accusations of abuse dating back to the 1990s.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Las Cruces declined to comment on the matter.

Cantu issued the following statement:

“Tuesday, Catholic News Agency published an article about a possible Vatican investigation into the handling of clerical misconduct during my time as Bishop of the Diocese of Las Cruces. I support the Vos Estis protocols to ensure the accountability of bishops and to bring justice and healing to victims/survivors, and I intend to cooperate fully with any inquiry.”

Cantu, 53, became a bishop in 2008 when he was appointed an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. He became Bishop of Las Cruces in 2013, and was coadjutor bishop of San Jose in 2018. He formally took the reins of that diocese in May 2019. Cantu, a native of Houston, was ordained a priest of the Houston archdiocese in 1994.

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