PALM SPRINGS (CA)
Palm Springs Desert Sun

October 14, 2018

By Corinne S Kennedy

The first Sunday after church officials in Riverside and San Bernardino counties published a list of priests accused of sexually abusing children, Catholics across the Coachella Valley attended Mass and heard from their spiritual leaders about the church’s response to the abuse and how the faith community should move forward.

At Sacred Heart Church in Palm Desert, Monsignor Howard Lincoln told churchgoers that one of the priests credibly accused of sexual abuse, Peter McCormick, had served at the desert parish. Lincoln said the Diocese of San Bernardino, which consists of the two counties, had published the names of the priests — and what action was taken after the accusations — to be more “open,” “honest” and transparent.

He said Bishop Gerald Richard Barnes wanted to encourage anyone who had been abused by a priest to…