HAWAII
The Worthy Adversary
Posted by Joelle Casteix on August 28, 2012
‘Ohana can come from the most unlikely of places.
I went to Hilo, Hawaii last week for a single reason: Expose priest George DeCosta, who has been accused of abuse by two youth and former students at Honolulu’s Damien Memorial School. De Costa is now living in Volcano, a town about 20 miles outside of Hilo, where he went after Honolulu Bishop Francis DiLorenzo forced him to retire in 2002.
DeCosta spent 30 years as pastor at St. Mary Gate of Heaven – now Malia Puka’O Kalani – parish. When he was forced out – in the midst of a massive priest shortage – the parish was left without a permanent priest. He was also forced to retire the same year, 2002, that Catholic clergy sex abuse “reforms” forced bishops across the country to remove child-molesting clerics.
Now, DeCosta is the pastor of a religious “community” in Volcano and travels the country with a national group called Music Ministry Alive. Within the past week, DeCosta’s photo and bio have been taken off of the website.
I went to the small Malia Puka’O Kalani Parish not quite knowing what to expect.
I stood outside for less than 5 minutes before a man came up to me and said, “Are you the whole rally?”
“Yeah,” I told him. “It’s just me. Hope it’s not disappointing”
“We’ve been waiting to talk to you. Please, come back and sit.”
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