SAN DIEGO (CA)
The Los Angeles Times
September 15, 2018
By Peter Rowe and Kristina Davis
The clerical sexual abuse scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church hit home Thursday, as the Diocese of San Diego added eight priests to the list of those believed to have molested children.
“This is a response to the terrible moment we are in,” said Bishop Robert McElroy, citing a recent Pennsylvania grand jury report that found 1,000 children there had been molested by Pittsburgh-area priests, and the resignation of Theodore McCarrick, who is accused of sexually assaulting altar boys, seminarians and priests.
“The cascade of emotions that this causes the survivors of the abuse, as well as other people in the pews, has caused a tumult of anger, grief, upset, incomprehension, disillusionment,” McElroy said.
The new names — the Revs. Jose Chavarin, Raymond Etienne, J. Patrick Foley, Michael French, Richard Houck, George Lally and Paolino Montagna, plus Msgr. Mark Medaer — were released in piecemeal fashion, with critical details missing.
This list extends the roster of alleged predator priests established by a landmark legal case that was concluded 11 years ago. On Sept. 7, 2007, the diocese settled 144 claims of child sexual abuse by 48 priests and one lay employee. The payments totaled $198.1 million, the second-largest settlement by a Catholic diocese in the United States.
Thursday’s announcement was prompted by the Pennsylvania grand jury report, the McCarrick case and other recent revelations that have called into question the church’s moral authority and its willingness to honestly address this scandal.
“There is a broad call for transparency,” McElroy said. “When we looked at it, we wanted to meet that as best we could.”
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