CALIFORNIA
Visalia Times-Delta
Kyle Harvey, kharvey@visaliatimesdelta.com July 10, 2014
The Catholic Church of Visalia on Sunday will welcome the Rev. Eric Swearingen as its new pastor, a man who has strong support from many parishioners and has what some say is a troubled past.
As pastor, Swearingen will assume the leadership role overseeing Visalia’s four Catholic parishes, George McCann School and the Bethlehem Center. For Swearingen, the transfer from Fresno to Visalia is a homecoming. He grew up in Visalia, attending George McCann and graduating from Redwood High School in 1979.
In a brief telephone interview with the Times-Delta Thursday, Swearingen said he has fond memories of stopping for a soda at Glick’s Meat Market while biking home from George McCann.
“I left here in 1979,” he said. “A lot’s changed since then.” …
Lawsuit
It was while Swearingen was conducting ministry in Fresno in 2006 that he was accused of molesting a teenage altar boy many years earlier.
No criminal charges were ever filed by either the Fresno or Kern County district attorneys but the alleged victim — who came forward nearly two decades after the alleged abuse occurred — brought a civil suit in Fresno against the pastor and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno.
Juan Rocha said that Swearingen allowed him to stay temporarily in two rectories, one in Fresno and one in Bakersfield. Swearingen reportedly gave him refuge from a troubled home life that included an alcoholic father — a story Swearingen verified, according to media reports at the time.
But the two testimonies diverged after that, with Rocha saying he was abused and Swearingen denying it.
The defense
The diocese, presided over at the time by the late Bishop John T. Steinbock, adamantly defended Swearingen. Defense attorneys sought to discredit Rocha’s testimony by showing him to be dishonest, but the judge threw out the evidence.
Rocha, who Fresno media reported at the time was an Army sergeant first class, received an administrative discharge from the Marines after a military psychologist ruled he possessed an anti-social disorder that made him a risk to himself and others. …
Local reaction
Parishioners attending mass at St. Mary’s on Wednesday and Thursday expressed confidence in church leadership, who they said they trust to make the right decisions about their pastor. Some had knowledge of the 2006 incident and some did not.
Marco Rinaldi, of Cutler, was one of Swearingen’s supporters.
“I’m 100 percent confident,” he said. “Not only do I trust church leadership, but I feel the proper process was done and that should be behind him. We’re very glad to have him here.”
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