Man sues archdiocese, alleging sex abuse by priest

NEW MEXICO
The New Mexican

By Tom Sharpe
The New Mexican

An anonymous Taos County man alleges in a lawsuit that he was molested as a child by a priest in Questa some 25 years ago.

He claims the Rev. Michael O’Brien raped him, beginning when he was 10 or 11 years old and continuing until he was 12 or 13.

O’Brien was known for starting the Pilgrimage for Vocations while he was a pastor in Estancia in 1973. The 100-mile walk from Estancia to Chimayó was meant to recruit young men to the priesthood.

He went on to serve at the San Francisco de Asis Catholic Church in Ranchos de Taos from from 1980 to 1981, at St. Gertrude the Great in Mora, 1982-84, Our Lady of Sorrows in Las Vegas, N.M., 1985-86, and St. Anthony in Questa, 1987-89.

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