NEW MEXICO
The New Mexican
By Patrick Malone
The New Mexican
When Salt Lake City Bishop John Wester takes over as the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe this summer, he’ll inherit a flock haunted for decades by allegations of sexual abuse by priests.
During his introduction last week, Wester referred to sex abuse as “a terrible, terrible sin” and called protection of children in the church “more important than anything.”
In the journey that brings him to Santa Fe, Wester climbed the ranks of the Catholic Church. As vicar for clergy in the Archdiocese of San Francisco from 1998 to 2007, he took on duties that involved sorting out the rampant sexual-abuse claims that have rattled the church globally for the past two decades.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco became known for its reform efforts during Wester’s tenure there under then-Archbishop William Levada. It established one of the first boards in the nation where congregation members reviewed sex-abuse claims against priests, and it helped develop the church’s “zero-tolerance” policy in the United States. …
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, an organization that tracks sexual abuse by clergy, says Wester in San Francisco served as a cog in a churchwide system of shuttling accused abusers to new destinations that gave them fresh starts and access to potential new victims.
“The leading church officials, bishops, chancellors, vicars of the clergy, routinely transferred known priest pedophiles and child molesters from one parish to another or country to country,” the survivors network said in a written statement to The New Mexican. “Bishop Wester seems to follow the historical pattern of responding to reports of child sex abuse by clergy.”
The group said Wester “failed to act aggressively in kicking out clergy who rape and molest children.”
Joey Piscitelli, who grew up in the Bay Area and was a victim in childhood of sexual abuse by a priest, had numerous face-to-face meetings with Wester about his case. He called Wester a barrier to justice who protected accused abusers from punishment. Piscitelli said Wester tended to claim ignorance when confronted with information about the dark pasts of some priests he was responsible for overseeing.
“His history in San Francisco of refusing to act prudently in removing several accused child molesters is disgraceful, and should act as a warning sign to parents and children in New Mexico,” said Piscitelli, 59.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.