SAN JOSE (CA)
NBC Bay Area
A Catholic bishop issued an apology today to parents and community members after a registered sex offender was issued a letter allowing him to attend an elementary school festival last month.
Bishop Patrick McGrath, head of the Diocese of San Jose, said that it was a “mistake” that allowed Mark Christopher Gurries to attend and volunteer at a Saint Frances Cabrini Parish festival on Oct. 6.
“Our policy is clear: no one who has been found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult can be hired as an employee or allowed to volunteer in any activity that involves children, young people, or vulnerable adults,” McGrath wrote.
“I am deeply troubled and I apologize to you that this policy was not followed,” he said. By state law, Gurries, as a registered sex offender, is only allowed on a school property around children if he can produce written permission from a school administrator, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
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