PHOENIX (AZ)
What They Knew
…Or How to Deceive a Bishop: From the Jesuit Guide to Everything.
In a surprise move the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix released a list of 29 clerics accused of sexual abuse, joining only 25 other diocese in the United States to do so. One name that stands out on that list is the familiar Donald McGuire SJ of the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus. You can visit the Diocese of Phoenix’s site listing the clerics HERE.
The Bishop of Phoenix Thomas J. Olmsted has been issuing statements and community warnings about the Chicago Jesuit since 2007 when he was first informed that the child abusing cleric had been operating in his jurisdiction. A very responsible move given that he was never informed of McGuire’s presence by the Chicago Jesuits.
According to the Bishop:
The Diocese of Phoenix has no record of Fr. Donald J. McGuire asking for or receiving faculties to administer sacraments in the Diocese at any time. However, the Diocese is aware that Fr. Donald J. McGuire conducted several privately-sponsored retreats for adults over the age of 21 at Mt. Claret Retreat Center in Phoenix in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2001. Those retreats were not sponsored by or conducted by the Diocese of Phoenix, but were held at a Diocesan facility, which was rented out by a private association not affiliated with the Diocese. Fr. Donald J. McGuire is believed to also have conducted privately sponsored retreats in Casa Grande, Arizona, in the 1980s and 1990s as well as a privately sponsored retreat in Payson, Arizona, in 2002.
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