26 Accused in this Diocese
- BA.org Assignment Record
- National Catholic Reporter 04.02.99
- Records from Montgomery County Texas District Court on Guidry, 07.15.10
- Texas Dept of Criminal Justice Information on Guidry 07.15.10
- Statement by Diocese of Amarillo 09.15.11
- Geesey-Ferguson Guidry Obit 10.20.13
- The Advocate 01.11.19
- Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux List accessed 02.24.19
- Associated Press 07.11.02
- Amarillo Globe-News 07.11.02
- Amarillo Globe-News 08.09.02
- NY Times 08.24.02
- Dallas Morning News 09.01.02
- Amarillo Globe-News 02.27.03
- Associated Press 02.27.03
- Amarillo Globe-News 10.17.03
- Amarillo Globe-News 11.14.03
- Amarillo Globe-News 11.25.04
- Associated Press 11.29.04
- Diocese of Amarillo List 01.31.19
Deacon Jesse Guerrero
Ordained for the permanent diaconate in 1989. Removed in 2002 after allegations that he molested three girls, ranging in ages 10-15, during 2001-2002. Indicted by a Grand Jury. Trial held in 12/2003. The girls testified. The jury deliberated less than one hour before finding Guerrero not guilty. He wanted to return to ministry; the bishop was still reviewing the matter. Reinstated in 2006.
Fr. Aiden Maguire
Ordained in Ireland. Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese 1/61-12/65 and 10/69-8/81. Returned to Ireland in 1981.
Sources:
Fr. Anthony Catalina
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese 10/58 - 7/68. Died 11/30/68.
Fr. Bruce Michael Wood
Full name Bruce Edward (Michael) Wood. Named publicly as accused by the diocese on its list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese 7/84-6/88. Died 6/22/17.
Fr. Claude Barton
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/2019. Assigned in the diocese 11/1958 - 9/1960. Previously worked with Native Americans in mid-western states, mostly South Dakota. Died 11/9/1979. Added to the Gallup diocese's list in 12/2023.
Fr. Cletus Bernard McGorry
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese 9/13/55-1/10/18. Died 2/2/92.
Sources:
Fr. Dale Anthony Guidry
Ordained for Houma-Thibodaux diocese. On leave several years, then resurfaced in Honolulu HI parishes. Later assigned to Amarillo TX. Removed from ministry in 1999; bishop would not give reason. Arrested in Montgomery County TX 7/30/09, charged with two counts of Online Solicitation of a Minor. Pled guilty to both counts and was sentenced 7/15/10 to 5 years in prison. Died 10/20/13 in Stockton TX. On Houma-Thibodaux diocese's list 1/11/19.
Assignments:
Sources:
Fr. Dennis A. Boylan
Ordained in 1974 for the P.I.M.E. order. Assigned after ordination to a P.I.M.E. seminary in Newark OH (Diocese of Columbus), returning to his native MI, Diocese of Kalamazoo, by 1976. Removed from ministry in 8/1988 due to allegations of the sexual abuse in the early 1980s of boys, ages 12-13. Left MI. Received treatment in Jemez Springs, NM. Worked secular jobs. Incardinated in 5/1995 into the Diocese of Amarillo, under supervision. Removed in 2002 due to allegations. In 2004 was working part-time at a funeral home. Laicized in 11/2005. Died in 2018. Included in the 5/22/2024 MI Attorney General's Kalamazoo report.
Fr. Gerald V. Lynch
Ordained for the Trappists in Brighton, MA. Incardinated into the Diocese of Amarillo 1954. Died 11/25/79. Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19.
Sources:
Fr. Guillermo Morales Martinez
Named publicly as accused by the diocese on its list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese until 11/07.
Fr. J. Melton Silva
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Amarillo TX
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese until 1980. Died in 1999.
Fr. James C. Gurzynski
Named publicly as accused by the diocese on its list 1/31/19. Died 4/8/13.
Fr. James D. Hutzler
Resigned in 7/2002 after seeking the opinion of the Diocesan Review Board concerning what he called an incident of "horseplay" involving a teenage boy about 18 years previously. Hutzler said his resignation stemmed from when he had contact with a "young man" while wrestling with him in front of a youth group. The Diocese sent him for counseling after the incident. Included 1/31/2019 on the Diocese's list of those credibly accused of the sexual abuse of minors. In 6/2025 the Diocese settled with a man who alleged that Hutzler sexually abused him as a boarding student at Alamo Catholic High School 1973-1975.
Fr. James Leslie Daly
Full name James Leslie (Laurence) Daly. Worked in the diocese 9/1930 - 1/1944 and 7/1963 - 8/1965. Died 6/26/1988. Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/2019. Added in 7/2023 to the Gallup diocese's list of credibly accused.
Fr. Joseph Raymond Lopez
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19. Left ministry in 1970. Laicized 1973. Died in 2005.
Fr. Laurence Connaughton
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19. Excardinated 2/58. Likely deceased.
Fr. Michael Dermot O’Brien
Named publicly as accused by the diocese on its list 1/31/19. Died 2/11/78.
Fr. Orville Raymond Blum
Removed in 5/02. Told his congregation in Hereford, TX that a former student at Alamo Catholic High School had accused him of molesting her in the mid-1970s. Resigned as priest in 7/02. Later found working as groundskeeper at Amarillo Country Club. On diocese's list 1/31/19.
Fr. Peter Mukekhe Wafula
Ordained for the Crusaders of the Holy Spirit, Parana, Argentina. Removed from ministry 7/10/18. On the Amarillo diocese's list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese February to July 2018. Indicted in 10/18. Accused of sexually assaulting a boy. Trial in 10/19. Found not guilty.
Fr. Peter Paul DiBenedetto
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19. Died 11/28/95.
Fr. Richard Wallace Lang
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo diocese on its list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese 12/41- 3/45 and 8/57-7/68. Died 5/30/74.
Sources:
Fr. Robert Patrick Hoffman
Named publicly as accused by the Amarillo and Lubbock dioceses on their lists 1/31/19. Worked in the Amarillo diocese until 7/83. Worked in the Diocese of Lubbock 7/83-7/87. Died 3/20/05.
Fr. Rodney Charles Howell
Accused publicly in 1992 of sexually abusing at least one child in west TX in 1967; a civil litigation settled in 1995. Accused, along with his brother, Fr. Gerald Howell, of sexually abusing many students at a school for the deaf in New Orleans. Also accused of abusing at least two boys in 1986. Sent to the Servants of the Paraclete in Jemez Springs NM for treatment after the parents of the two boys complained. In 1998 a man filed suit, claiming that Howell sexually abused him as an altar boy beginning in 1982 and continuing for 10 years. The alleged abuse began when Howell was assigned to St. Pius X in O'Donnell TX. Died 1/10/1993. Included on the Diocese of Amarillo's 2019 list of accused.
Fr. Rosendo Herrera Hernandez
Accused in a 2002 civil lawsuit of impregnating a 17-year-old girl in Amarillo and of also molesting two of her sisters. Per the suit, Herrera was removed earlier from Mexican seminary for having sexual relations with young girl. Removed from ministry in the Amarillo Diocese in 2000. Suit settled in 2/2003. Granted lay status in 3/2001. Second suit filed by adult accuser in 10/2003, settled in 11/2004. Included on the diocese's list 1/31/2019.
Sources:
Fr. Terence Burke
From Ireland. "Terry." Ordained for the Diocese of Amarillo, where he worked until 7/2002. There were many complaints of sexual misconduct with minors in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Suspended. Laicized. Named publicly as accused by the Diocese on its list 1/31/2019. Per the list, Burke died in 2016. (List spells first name 'Terrance,' the Official Catholic Directory shows him as 'Terence.')
Fr. Thomas Hubert Patrick Burke
From Ireland. Full name Thomas Hubert (Patrick) Burke. Ordained for Amarillo. Named publicly as accused by the diocese on its list 1/31/19. Worked in the diocese 10/57 - 2/24/75.