OKLAHOMA CITY (OK)
The Oklahoman
Oct. 9, 2019
Like their peers in so many parts of the country, Roman Catholics in Oklahoma are experiencing the heartbreak and anger that come with learning of priests who abused children and the Church’s mishandled of abuse allegations.
The Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma released a list last week of 11 priests and other individuals who had been credibly accused of sex abuse against a minor since the diocese’s inception in 1973. One day later, the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City said an investigation dating to 1960 revealed 11 current or former priests were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.
In both dioceses, the reports were issued by outside, and highly regarded, law firms — GableGotwals in Tulsa, and McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City. The firms had free rein to investigate every file — a commendable and wise move. Any hint of interference or control by the diocese and archdiocese would have clouded the findings.
Those findings are distressing. For example, McAfee & Taft cited a now-deceased priest who was accused of child sexual abuse in 1989. Damning videotapes were recovered from the priest’s home, but the law firm found no evidence the priest was reported to law enforcement or the Department of Human Services, and eventually he was assigned to two parishes in other states.
The report also found that the archdiocese in 2002 paid the legal fees for a priest to file a defamation lawsuit against a man who had accused him of sexual abuse — even though the priest had admitted his actions to former Archbishop Eusebius Beltran and former Vicar General Edward Weisenburger.
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