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[REPORT OF THOMAS P. DOYLE, J.C.D., C.A.D.C. In the case of JOHN ROE 2 vs THE Catholic DIOCESE OF HONOLULU, THE SOCIETY OF ST. SULPICE AND THE CATHOLIC FOREIGN MISSION SOCIETY (MARYKNOLL FATHERS AND BROTHERS) – via BishopAccountability.org]
By Mileka Lincoln, Reporter
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) –
The Catholic Church knew late Honolulu Bishop Joseph Anthony Ferrario had been accused of sexual abuse while a priest in Kailua, but appointed him to head the Honolulu diocese anyway, a Catholic priest who was in charge of managing the process in which candidates were vetted for the office of bishop alleges in a new 18-page court report.
The report by Father Thomas Doyle was released Wednesday, in conjunction with three new sex abuse lawsuits filed in Hawaii against the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.
Doyle claims the Vatican was informed about serious sexual abuse allegations against Ferrario, but chose to ignore them.
The first sexual abuse allegation against Ferrario was made back in 1976, when he was the pastor at Saint Anthony Church in Kailua, according to the report. Since then, Ferrario has been accused of sexually abusing boys in at least five cases between 1969 and 1981, most of them at Saint Anthony Church. All of the alleged incidents happened before he became bishop; he headed the Catholic Church in Hawaii from 1982 to 1993.
Ferrario died in 2003.
According to court documents, the 1976 allegations involved a 12-year-old victim who went to Ferrario to confide in him about an incident of sexual abuse involving another priest three years earlier.
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