NEW YORK (NY)
Daikly News
February 15, 2019
By Leonard Greene
The Brooklyn Archdiocese on Friday released the names of more than 100 priests credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.
The list, 108 in total, includes priests, bishops and deacons for whom allegations were reported to the Diocese or the church’s Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program.
“As we know, sexual abuse is a shameful and destructive problem that is found in all aspects of society, yet it is especially egregious when it occurs within the church, and such abuse cannot be tolerated,” Archbishop Nicholas DiMarzio said in a letter accompanying the release.
“It is my hope that the publishing of this list will provide some assistance to those who are continuing the difficult process of healing, as well as encourage other victims to come forward.”
Among the names on the list is a priest, the Rev. James Lara, who was removed from the ministry in 1992.
Lara, who served in Brooklyn for 19 years, re-emerged in the world of academia under the name Jaime Lara, a professor of medieval and renaissance studies at Arizona State University, with a 25-year career teaching about sacred art history.
The church first disclosed his name two years ago.
Lara resigned from Arizona State after the revelation.
Administrators apparently did not know he spent nearly two decades as a priest, and Lara’s time in active ministry was notably absent from his 18-page curriculum vitae.
Lara’s victims, some of whom have been financially compensated by the church, have described a predator who doted on Boy Scouts and altar boys.
Also on the list is Joseph Byrns, who was defrocked in 2013 after being removed from the ministry in 2004.
Monsignor Otto Garcia, who was accused by a victim in a Daily News report of covering for pedophile priests, and sexually abusing a teenager 40 years ago, did not appear on the list. A statement from the diocese said a review board determined the allegations against Garcia were unsubstantiated.
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