ARIZONA/NEW MEXICO
AZ Journal
Jan. 21, 2015
By Linda Kor
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup has released the names of 31 priests church officials say have sexually abused their parishioners. The diocese, which serves 55,000 square miles in Arizona and New Mexico, including tribal lands, posted the names on its website last month.
A story published in The Tribune-News in 2011 reported on the admission by the diocese that a now deceased priest who had served in both Winslow and Holbrook had been a known pedophile within the church. Clement Hageman served as a priest at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Holbrook from 1942 until 1953 and at the Madre de Dios Parish in Winslow from 1965 until 1975. That admission by the diocese allowed individuals who suffered abuse by Hageman to come forward to begin healing and to pursue legal options.
Last month the diocese released the names of 30 more priests who served in the diocese who have been identified as having credible allegations of sexual misconduct made against them. Although many of those priests are now deceased, the diocese has not indicated the status of those who are still living. Of the clergy included on that list, nine served in Holbrook, 14 in Winslow and one in Snowflake.
Those priests who were assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Holbrook include Clement Hageman, who was assigned from 1942-1952, and is now deceased; William Allison, assigned in 1958, now deceased; David Enrique Viramontes, assigned from 1960 to 1961, now deceased; Samuel Wilson, assigned in 1961, now deceased; James Burns, assigned in 1964, now deceased; Douglas McNeil, assigned from 1969-1971 and again from 1973-1974; John Boland, assigned in 1975; Joseph Coutu, assigned from 1981-1983; and Jose Rodriquez, assigned from 1990-1992. …
David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), knows the struggle that victims go through as old memories surface and emphasized the importance of reaching out to others. “I am begging every single person who suspects they observed or experienced abuse to come forward. Contact the police and help protect others who may become victims,” said Clohessy.
He explained the importance of reporting the crime, not only to law enforcement first, but also to an independent source. “These crimes were committed and concealed because it was not in the best interest of the church to expose them until now. You cannot tell me that over the past years in Arizona that with hundreds and hundreds of church employees no one, not a priest to a janitor, saw that abuse was taking place. It is counterintuitive to go to the diocese first,” stated Clohessy.
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