UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary
August 17, 2017 Joelle Casteix
Rita Milla had a horror story.
It was a story that no one could believe.
It was 1978. The California teenager said she was being sexually abused by seven priests from the Philippines. She was 16.
Who would believe a horrible story like that?
The abuse continued.
Then she got pregnant. One of the priests, Santiago Tamayo, urged her to have an abortion. When she wouldn’t, he and the father of the child, Father Valentine Tugade, convinced Rita’s mother to send the now-19-year-old to the Philippines, where she could have the child in secret. Rita’s mother didn’t know her daughter was pregnant.
Rita gave birth to a healthy and beautiful daughter. In 1983, Rita went public.
Milla and her family demanded answers from the Archdiocese. All hell broke loose.
Scattered priests
The priests scattered … All under the protection of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and bishops in the Philippines.
Why? Rita’s allegations had merit.
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.