MONTEREY (CA)
Monterey Herald
January 25, 2019
By James Herrera
When the Diocese of Monterey published the results of its review of clergymen’s personnel files a few weeks ago, it listed 30 who had been credibly or plausibly accused of sexual misconduct with a child going back to the 1950s.
Yet critics are quick to say this is not a complete picture because of the criteria the review used to determine whose names would be listed.
At the outset of the review, Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Monterey, outlined the objectives of the review, saying: “We want to assure people that any priest who has a credible accusation of child abuse against him is no longer in ministry. Our hope is that an outside firm brings transparency and assurance that this is a true and accurate account.”
But an organization that tracks clergy sex abuse cases says the Diocese of Monterey failed at that.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has compiled a list of 18 names it feels should be included on a complete list. To compile this list, the organization used information from Bishop Accountability, an organization that aims to facilitate the accountability of bishops in the United States.
SNAP is a self-help group of more than 25,000 members for clergy sex abuse victims. Its support groups meet in over 60 cities across the globe. Its response to the Diocese of Monterey’s Report of Credible Allegations immediately after it was published Jan. 2, can be found at bit.ly/2sOEjYI.
Paul Gaspari, a lawyer with Weintraub Tobin, the outside law firm the Diocese of Monterey tasked with conducting the review, responded to assertions made by SNAP by saying: “I trust you recognize that Bishop Accountability is not independent and the ‘database’ is far from accurate.”
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