FORT DODGE (IA)
National Catholic Reporter
November 6, 2018
By Peter Feuerherd
The Diocese of Sioux City admitted Oct. 31 that it had concealed for decades the identity of a priest who had abused dozens of Iowa boys, as reported by the Associated Press. One of the bishops during that period was Daniel DiNardo, now cardinal archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Associated Press obtained a Feb. 12 letter written by the diocese vicar general. According to the letter, AP reports that “in 1986, Coyle reported his ‘history of sexual attraction to and contact with boys’ to Sioux City’s bishop, revealing that he had victimized approximately 50 youths over a 20-year period while serving in several Iowa parishes.”
Bishop R. Walker Nickless of the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, acknowledged Oct. 31, in answer to an Associated Press inquiry, that “police were not contacted when Coyle self-admitted, but policies have changed since 1986.”
The supervisors of Coyle, now 85 years old, included DiNardo, who served as bishop in Sioux City from 1998 to 2004. DiNardo, as president of the conference, has been a leading voice in the response to this year’s sex abuse revelations, including a Pennsylvania grand jury report and charges of harassment and abuse of minors by former cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington.
The Sioux City case became public as the bishops prepared to gather for their annual meeting in Baltimore Nov. 12-14, during which a response to the sex abuse crisis will be on the agenda.
DiNardo became the archbishop of Galveston-Houston in 2006, after being named coadjutor there in 2004. He was named a cardinal in 2007. DiNardo has urged the church to come forward with full transparency about the crisis.
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