CALIFORNIA
The Christian Post
[Archive of Franciscan Sex Abuse in the Province of St. Barbara – BishopAccountability.org]
By Luiza Oleszczuk , Christian Post Reporter
May 24, 2012|5:45 pm
Over 8,500 pages of documents detailing charges of sex abuse of minors within the Franciscan religious order in California were published Wednesday, revealing dark secrets about years of ongoing abuse by a boarding school choir director and eight other clergymen.
The files are believed to be the largest release of religious order documents in the history of the sexual abuse crisis, according to BishopAccountability.org. They reveal details of crimes committed by the nine priests who were accused of abuse, including Robert Van Handel, a former Franciscan priest and choir director at St. Anthony’s, a prestigious Franciscan boarding school in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Among the documents are notes from the men’s therapists, letters from parents of alleged victims, and reports by the Board of Inquiry.
A majority of the files is now available online. All documents outline the abuse of 25 alleged victims. Van Handel is the only clergyman of those mentioned who has been criminally convicted.
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