CALIFORNIA
Pasadena Star-News
By Lauren Gold, Pasadena Star-News
POSTED: 09/10/14
SAN GABRIEL >> Representatives from Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) clashed with parishioners Wednesday after raising questions about a former San Gabriel Mission Parish pastor.
SNAP spokeswoman Joelle Casteix said the organization sought answers as to why Father Bruce Wellems was removed from the church in June and more information about an alleged incident of sexual abuse that occurred when Wellems was a teenager. SNAP held simultaneous press conferences in San Gabriel and Chicago, where Wellems now lives.
Casteix said SNAP found out about the incident recently via two letters sent by officials from the Claretian Missionary Fathers order in Chicago to the parish notifying parishioners of Wellems’ departure. Casteix called the letters a “smoking gun.”
“Now that the letters are out there we want answers. All we want is truth and all we want is transparency,” Casteix said. “Everyone gets hurt when the truth is not told. We don’t know what the truth is, but from what’s here it doesn’t look very good. We want the truth about why they yanked the guy from this parish.”
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