ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
Oct. 17, 2019
According to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento assisted a priest in obtaining a new position in Mexico following four sexual abuse accusations in Northern California. The legal complaint includes a letter, reportedly written by the diocesan attorney and approved by the bishop at the time, allowing the cleric to work in Mexico as long as the diocese there assumed “full responsibility” in the event the clergyman committed a sex offense while working in in that country.
We applaud the brave survivor, Juan Ricardo Torres, for coming forward. He was promised 30 years ago that Fr. Jose Antonio Pinal Castellanos would be kept away from children. Instead, Juan is the one that is making the world a safer place, as his abuser’s current whereabouts are unmasked and he will hopefully be removed from ministry once and for all.
Fr. Castellanos is on the list of “credibly accused” clergy released by the Diocese of Sacramento on April 30, 2019, under the name of Jose Antonio Pinal. However, contrary to what the letter says, the list claims that the priest’s faculties were removed in 1989, and that he fled to Mexico. There is absolutely no mention of the deal with the Diocese of Cuernevaca to allow Fr. Castellanos to continue functioning as a priest.
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