Sunday, March 17th., 2019
BishopAccountability.org
ARGENTINA
Bishop Juan Carlos Maccarone
Resigned in 2005, age 64, per canon 401.2 after video surfaced of him having sex with 23-year-old man. Remained in ministry. Seen 2010 saying Confirmation Mass for teenagers. Santiago del Estero bishop emeritus. Died March 2015.
Archbishop Edgardo G. Storni
Resigned October 2002, age 66, per canon 401.2 after reports he abused dozens of young men and boys. Some of the alleged victims were as young as 15 or 16. Convicted 2009 and sentenced to eight years in prison for sexual abuse of a seminarian who was reportedly age 18. Appeals court overturned sentence 2011, ordering lower court to re-sentence. Storni remained Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz archbishop emeritus. He died 2012, before lower court had re-issued sentence. In 2016, a civil court ordered the church to pay $50,000 (756,000 pesos) in moral damages to victim whose charges had resulted in conviction. This ruling was reversed on appeal in 2018, with the higher court finding that the incidents were prescribed.
Bishop Adolfo A. Uriona, F.D.P. Arrested 2006 after a 24-year-old woman accused him of groping her during a bus ride. Denied the charge. Case dismissed. Visited pope 2014. Añatuya bishop in 2004 until he was appointed bishop of Villa de la Concepción in December 2014.
Bishop Gustavo Óscar Zanchetta
Named bishop of Orán 7/23/2013. This was one of first episcopal appointments by Pope Francis, with whom Zanchetta has said he has 'a very close relationship.' Lay leaders in Zanchetta's prior diocese of Quilmes publicly protested the appointment, citing his alleged financial misdealings and abuse of power. Zanchetta abruptly resigned Orán post 7/29/2017, leaving the diocese "in a matter of hours," skipping the customary farewell Mass. In a brief public letter, Zanchetta attributed his hasty departure to ill health, but local media reported Zanchetta's alleged financial mismanagement and harsh treatment of respected priests. On 12/19/2017, Vatican announced Zanchetta's appointment to APSA, the office that manages the Holy See’s 5000+ properties and other financial holdings. Zanchetta's position, 'assessor,' hadn't existed previously; it was created for him, reportedly upon orders from the Pope. On 12/28/2018, the Salta newspaper El Tribuno reported Zanchetta's alleged sexual abuse of seminarians. Vatican announced 1/4/2019 that Zanchetta would step down while allegations were investigated; spokesperson said that allegations had first come to their attention in the fall of 2018. This was contradicted by an El Tribuno report, that Orán priests had informed papal nuncio Emil Tscherrig in 2015 of the bishop's alleged sexual abuse of seminarians. In 1/20/2019 AP report, former Orán vicar general said Pope had met with Zanchetta in both 2015 and 2017 to discuss allegations. Vatican again denied that there had been prior accusations of sexual abuse.
AUSTRALIA Cardinal George Pell
Accused 2002 of 1961 or 1962 sex abuse of 12-year-old boy while Pell was seminarian. Denying allegation, Pell stood aside as Sydney archbishop, while church asked former judge to investigate. Report said accuser "gave the impression he was speaking honestly" but crime could not be established. Pell resumed office. Appointed by Pope 2014 to head Vatican's new Secretariat of the Economy. News broken by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) July 2016 of multiple additional complaints investigated by Victorian police. Pell allegedly fondled the genitals and anuses of two boys in a pool in 1978-1979, and may have exposed himself to three boys in 1986-1987. Another allegation involved unspecified abuse of two teen choirboys in 1990s. Pell's office called the allegations "totally untrue" and accused ABC of a "scandalous smear campaign." In a 2nd statement, Pell urged an inquiry of the Victoria police, accusing them of leaking reports to the ABC. [See the half-hour ABC TV program transcript.] A book published in May 2017 contained detailed claims that Pell had sexually abused two choirboys at St. Patrick's Cathedral in east Melbourne in the late 1990s, when Pell was archbishop and after he had initiated the Melbourne Response. On June 29, 2017, Victoria police announced that Pell would face "multiple charges" and that there were "multiple complainants." In response, the Sydney archdiocese said that Pell "strenuously" denies the allegations and will return home pending doctors' approval to "defend the charges vigorously." [See our timeline of the police investigation.] He becomes the highest ranking Catholic Church official to be criminally charged with child sexual abuse. A "committal hearing" took place in March 2018, with testimony from victims and cross-examination by Pell's defense. On May 1, 2018, a Victorian magistrate dismissed several of the charges but ruled that the remaining evidence warranted a trial.
On December 11, 2018, Cardinal Pell was convicted on five counts of “historical child sexual offenses" by a unanimous jury. The offenses reportedly relate to his abuse of two choirboys in Melbourne in the 1990s. According to unidentified sources in news reports, Pell continues to maintain his innocence, and he will appeal the verdict. He will be sentenced in February 2019. Also in 2019, he will face a second trial, for alleged molestation of other minors.
Bishop Max L. Davis
Criminally charged June 2014 with 1969 sexual abuse of child in New Norcia, prior to ordination. Denied the charge. Stepped aside as Australia's Military bishop while court case active. Tried in Perth court February 2016 on charges of "indecent dealings" with five boys, ages 13-15, between 1969-1972. Found not guilty.
AUSTRIA Cardinal Hans H. Groër, O.S.B. Accused publicly 1995 of abusing boys and young monks. Retired as archbishop soon after, age 75, with JP II saying Christ too faced "unjust accusations." Named head of priory 1996. Removal announced early 1998, after more victims surfaced. Schönborn and 3 others confirmed Groër's abuses February 1998. Resigned April 1998 from all duties. Remained cardinal and Vienna archbishop emeritus. Some estimated 2,000 victims. Died 2003.
BELGIUM Bishop Roger J. Vangheluwe Resigned 2010, age 73, per canon 401.2 after admitting to sexual abuse of boy, later revealed to be his nephew. Sent by Vatican to monastery in France for "spiritual and psychological treatment." Admitted on television in April 2011 to abuse of two nephews, one beginning at age 5, over 13-year period in 1970s and '80s. Left monastery amidst public outcry three days after TV appearance. Not prosecuted due to expired statute of limitations. Current whereabouts unknown. Brugge {Bruges} bishop emeritus.
BRAZIL
Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva
Bishop of Rio Preto 2012 to present (2019). News in August 2018 of investigation by papal envoy. Ferreira da Silva is suspected of sexually harassing a young man. Also accused of protecting abusive priests, including one who was arrested in 2017 for possessing pornographic images of children.
Archbishop Aldo di Cillo Pagotto
Resigned 2016, age 66, per canon 401.2, after Vatican investigation into charges he accepted into the archdiocese priests and seminiarians rejected by other dioceses for suspected pedophilia. In a public letter explaining his resignation, Pagotto said his welcome of problem priests was an act of mercy. In January 2019, civil court ordered Paraíba archdiocese to pay victims 12 million Brazilian real or US $3,229,740. The victims had been sexually abused as children or young adults by Pagotto and four Paraíba priests. Pagotto remains Paraíba archbishop emeritus.
Bishop Antônio Sarto, S.D.B.
Bishop of Barra do Garças 1982-2001. Priest went public in 2005 ISTOÉ feature, accusing Sarto of sexual harassment beginning when the priest was ordained in 1988. Priest reported Sarto to ecclesiastical tribunal and then, in 2003, to Vatican. Nothing was done. Sarto died September 2008. Bishops' conference praised him, saying he had served with a 'pastor's zeal and father's love.'
CANADA Bishop John S. Knight Accused 2000 of sexual misconduct with person over age 16. Not known if alleged victim was under age 18. Church deemed allegation "substantive enough to warrant a full examination." Removed from ministry during Church investigation. Resigned same year, age 58. Toronto bishop emeritus.
Bishop Raymond J. Lahey
Arrested in 2009 for possession of child abuse images. Resigned as Antigonish bishop in 2009 per canon 401.2, age 69. Pled guilty in 2011. Sentenced in 2012 but given time served. Laicized in 2012.
Bishop Eugène P. LaRocque
Retired 2002. Investigated late 1990s-early 2000s by police probing sexual abuse in Cornwall. Per LaRocque, original allegations date to 1961. Not charged. Accused 2005 of 1970s sexual abuse of altar boy. Denied all accusations. Remained Alexandria-Cornwall bishop emeritus until his death in December 2018.
Bishop Hubert P. O’Connor, O.M.I. Resigned 1991, age 63, after charged with sex crimes. The alleged incidents took place between 1964 and 1967, when O'Connor was a priest and the principal of the St. Joseph's residential school near Williams Lake, British Columbia. He was charged with two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault; each count related to a separate complainant, each of whom was a former student employed at the school. The victims were young aboriginal women, all reportedly older than 18. Convicted 1996 of one charge of indecent assault of one woman and one charge of raping another woman. Sentenced to 2½ years in prison. Released on bail after serving 6 months. Conviction on indecent assault was changed to acquittal in 1998. Remained Prince George bishop emeritus. Died 2007.
CHILE Bishop Cristián E. Contreras Molina, O. de M.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Contreras at age 71 in September 2018. Contreras, who formerly led the diocese of San Felipe, remains a bishop emeritus. Chilean prosecutors are investigating claims that Contreras repeatedly abused a minor in the bishop’s house a decade ago. He denied this accusation in September 2018, saying "I feel absolutely free of any suggestion of any attitude of abuse or something related to sex." He was previously investigated for alleged sexual abuse of a 15-year-old. In 2013, the Vatican sent two priests to investigate but no sanctions were imposed.
Archbishop Francisco José Cox Huneeus, P. Schönstatt Laicized by Pope Francis in October 2018 at age 84. Cox is under investigation for abusing minors in Chile and Germany. Cox resigned as the archbishop of La Serena in 1997 at age 63. At the time, the Church cited mental health reasons. In 2002, abuse rumors appeared in local newspapers, and the Church acknowledged Cox had been removed from ministry due to “improper conduct.” Later that year, Cox released a statement asking forgiveness “for this dark side that is opposed to the Gospel.”
Bishop Gonzalo Duarte García de Cortázar, SS.CC.
Bishop emeritus of Valparaíso. Accused of covering up abuse by other clergy members as well as committing abuse himself. Pope Francis accepted his resignation in June 2018 at age 75, the standard retirement age for bishops. Duarte served as Chile’s military bishop between 1995 and 1999 and is expected to testify in November 2018 about alleged abuses by Air Force chaplain Pedro Quiroz and how the accusations were handled. In addition, Duarte himself was accused in 2014 of abusing adolescent seminarians.
Former Bishop Marco Antonio Órdenes Fernández
Former Bishop Órdenes was expelled from the priesthood at age 53 by Pope Francis in October 2018. He had resigned as the Bishop of Iquique in 2012 during a Vatican investigation into accusations he molested an altar boy years earlier, but remained archbishop emeritus until he was laicized. Órdenes acknowledged “an imprudent act” with his accuser, but said the youth was 17 and thus not underage at the time. His accuser had said the abuse began when he was 15. He said at first it was forced, but they later became lovers. In January 2018, sex crimes charges against Órdenes were dismissed after an appeals court ruled there was not enough evidence.
Bishop Carlos Eduardo Pellegrín Barrera, S.V.D.
Pope Francis accepted Bishop Pellegrín’s resignation at age 60 in September 2018. Pellegrín, who remains a bishop emeritus, headed the diocese of San Bartolome de Chillan, whose headquarters was raided by prosecutors one week before his resignation. Pellegrín is under investigation by Chile’s Public Ministry for abuse allegations that arose in August 2018. He also was investigated in 2011 after an anonymous accusation. After his resignation, he indicated he would fight the legal charges and asked for forgiveness “for the times when I was not at the height of what my responsibility as a pastor requires.”
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Bishop Príamo Pericles Tejeda Rosario
Resigned as Baní bishop in 1997, age 63, then worked as priest in Venice FL. Accused in 2007 of sexual assault of a 42-year-old man for 11 years. Venice diocese removed faculties. Not charged. Baní bishop emeritus.
Archbishop Józef Wesołowski *
Polish. Resigned as papal nuncio to Dominican Republic August 2013 and was secretly recalled to Vatican, just days before DR news media exposed his alleged sex assaults of children on Santo Domingo waterfront. Church officials did not inform DR law enforcement. Prosecution sought by both DR and Poland. Vatican reportedly rebuffed extradition request by Poland January 2014. Laicization announced June 2014, four days after DR bishop tweeted about seeing Wesołowski strolling in Rome. Diplomatic immunity removed August 2014, day after NY Times exposé. Put under house arrest in Vatican City State September 2014. Found with 100,000+ child abuse images on his laptop and Vatican-owned computer. Released from house arrest after 60 days; free to move around Vatican City State beginning late November 2014. Hospitalized night before his July 2015 trial in VCS, causing trial to be indefinitely postponed. Released from hospital one week later, and freed to walk around Vatican City, according to BBC. Found dead in his Vatican apartment August 28, 2015. Trial never resumed.
FRANCE Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco Léandri
News in 2002 of 2001 criminal complaint against di Falco. Man said he was age 12 in 1972 when alleged sexual assaults by di Falco began. Case dropped 2002 because of prescription. In 2016, same complainant filed civil case, suing di Falco for damages. He was supported by second alleged di Falco victim. Di Falco resigned as Gap bishop in 2017, at age 75. Court ruled in his favor in March 2018, saying filing period had expired. Victim ordered to pay bishop's legal fees. Di Falco denies any wrongdoing. He remains Gap bishop emeritus.
Resigned age 58 in 2002 per canon 401.2 after female university professor accused him of sexual abuse while performing an exorcism. Mainz auxilary bishop emeritus.
Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen
Hildesheim bishop 1957 until retirement in 1983, age 76. Died 1988. Accused in 2015 of sexual abuse of a boy from 1958 to 1963, beginning when the boy was age 10. Abuse was said to have included masturbation, anal and oral sex. Diocesan investigators deemed the accusations "plausible" and awarded Janssen's accuser 10,000 euros "in recognition of his suffering." In October 2018 a 70-year-old man alleged abuse in 1957 by Janssen, and by two other priests who were involved with children's homes. Janssen's first accuser stated that Janssen was a "great patron" of the children's homes and "liked to hang out there often."
Bishop Walter Mixa Resigned age 69 in 2010 per canon 401.2 after accusations he severely beat children at at a Schrobenhausen orphanage in the 1970s and misappropriated the orphanage's funds. Reportedly sexually abused minors, including an altar boy; Office of Public Prosecution opened investigation which it soon closed, citing insufficient evidence. Accused also of sexually abusing seminarians between 1996 and 2005. Augsburg bishop emeritus.
GUAM Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron, O.F.M.Cap. Agaña archbishop 1986-Present. Found guilty of canonical crimes and sentenced to removal from office and exile from Guam, according to March 16, 2018 press release by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Apuron quickly announced he would file an appeal. Penalties do not take effect until and unless the appeal fails.
Background and Chronology
Apuron is a member of Neocatechumenal Way, a controversial church movement. He sparked a public outcry in 2011 when he deeded a $40M+ church property in Yona for indefinite use as a Neocatechumenate seminary and theological institute (see pages 77-80 of September 2016 archdiocesan report).
In October 2014, he dismissed Deacon Steven Martinez from the archdiocesan review board after Martinez accused him of ignoring church sex abuse policy by harboring Rev. John Wadeson, who had been accused twice of child sex abuse in the U.S..
In late November 2014, Guam news media reported that Apuron had met privately at the Vatican with Pope Francis and the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (see Vatican bulletin). At around the same time, a man named John Toves publicly accused the archbishop of sexually abusing his cousin when Toves and his cousin attended a high school seminary in the early 1980s. The archdiocesan review board said it would not investigate Toves' allegation.
The archdiocese was visited by a high-ranking Vatican official who had received letters of complaint about Apuron from Guamanian Catholics in January 2015.
In August 2015, the Vatican reportedly was notified of Apuron's alleged rape of a former altar boy, Walter Denton, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church in Agat in 1977. However, Denton did not go public until June 2016, shortly after public allegations that Apuron had sexually assaulted two other altar boys at the same parish in the 1970s: Roy Quintanilla released a letter accusing Apuron of molesting him at age 12; and Doris Concepcion came forward to say that Apuron had sexually abused her late son, Joseph A. Quinata, when Quinata was an 11-year-old altar boy in the late 1970s.
Apuron denied all the allegations, attributing them to a malicious plot against him.
Apuron was placed on leave by Pope Francis June 6, 2016. The Agana archdiocese was assigned a temporary administrator, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, secretary for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. A week later, another former altar boy at Our Lady of Mount Carmel came forward to accuse Apuron of sexually assaulting him at age 15 in 1977.
On July 1, 2016, four victims filed a lawsuit against Apuron for libel and slander. On July 27, 2016, Hon stated that Apuron's alleged abuses had been reported to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Hon also said he had removed from the archdiocesan website all of Apuron's threats against accusers. By August 2016, at least five men had accused Apuron of abusing them as boys.
On August 13, 2016, a news outlet published an account by a man who says he witnessed child sex abuse by Apuron in 1964, when the man was a 10-year-old altar boy at Our Lady of Peace and Safe Journey Catholic Church in Chalan Pago. He said he witnessed another altar boy, also age 10, being sexually assaulted by the parish priest and by Apuron, then age 19.
In the meantime, Hon revealed that Apuron had disobeyed an order by Pope Francis to terminate use of the Yona property by the Neocatechumenates. On September 15, 2016, Hon released a letter saying he had asked Pope Francis to remove Apuron. On September 16, 2016, Hon released a report on the controversial Neocatechumenate seminary, the Redemptoris Mater House of Formation. On September 20, 2016, an archdiocesan spokesperson said (1, 2) that the Neocatechumenates in Guam had a powerful ally in Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On September 30, 2016, the archdiocese announced that Apuron would be put on canonical trial for his alleged crimes.
On October 31, 2016, the Vatican announced the appointment of Michael Byrnes, auxiliary bishop of Detroit, as coadjutor archbishop "with special faculties" to the Agaña archdiocese. The Vatican has "just formed all the conditions for the trial," Hon told reporters in early November.
On November 9, 2016, the archdiocese regained control of the Yona property, when Byrnes cancelled Apuron's controversial 2011 deeds that had given the property to the Neocatechumenates.
On January 11, 2017, a private investigator hired by the attorney for Apuron accusers found the archbishop living in a private home in Fairfield, California. The home is owned by the vice president of the Bank of Guam’s San Francisco branch.
Cardinal Raymond Burke was sent by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to preside over the canonical trial, which commenced in February 2017; Apuron was not required to attend.
Canon lawyer Patrick Wall said of confidential church documents obtained by a news outlet that the documents indicate that Apuron's case was known to the Vatican in 2008, as shown by the case's protocol number and year.
On July 6, 2017, Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Byrnes stated, "I think it would be a disaster if Archbishop Apuron were to return as the bishop of record."
In October 2017, Archbishop Byrnes said that the Vatican tribunal had reached a conclusion about Apuron.
In January 2018, Apuron's nephew filed a federal lawsuit against the archdiocese, alleging that Apuron had raped him in 1989 or 1990, when the nephew was age 15 or 16. This was the first allegation that Apuron had perpetrated sexual assault after becoming archbishop. Apuron responded by saying he was innocent of all allegations against him. The archbishop was photographed in an affectionate encounter with Pope Francis in February 2018.
On March 16, 2018, the Apostolic Tribunal for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that Apuron had been found guilty of "certain of the accusations" he has faced. It is not known which of his possible canonical crimes earned him the guilty verdict. In addition to child sexual abuse, the archbishop has been accused of enabling child sexual abuse, causing scandal, financial misconduct, disobedience, and doctrinal waywardness.
In announcing his intention to appeal the verdict, Apuron said he was relieved that the Vatican had dismissed the majority of the allegations against him.
Bishop Tomas Aguon Camacho Accused in a lawsuit filed in February 2017 of the rape and sexual abuse of a 10-year-old altar boy on Guam approximately 1971-1974. Accused in a second lawsuit, filed in 4/2017, of repeated sexual abuse of another 10-year-old altar boy, in the early 1960s at a Mongmong parish. Second accuser said he found porn in the rectory and Camacho caught him, perfomed sex acts on him, then threatened to tell the boy's mother he looked at porn if he told. Bishop Emeritus of Chalan Kanoa, Northern Mariana Islands. Died March 5, 2018.
Archbishop Felixberto Camacho Flores
Appointed Agaña Apostolic Administrator 1970, Bishop 1971, then Archbishop 1984. Died October 25, 1985. Accused in a May 3,1 2017 lawsuit of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy in 1966. His accuser said he was a student at Cathedral Grade School at the time and Flores was an Agaña Cathedral priest.
HONDURAS Bishop Juan José Pineda Fasquelle, C.M.F.
Accused 2017 by two former seminarians of sexual abuse in the early 2010's, when Pineda taught at Tegucigalpa archdiocesan seminary. Alleged victims submitted testimonies to papal envoy, who visited archdiocese in May 2017. Envoy also investigated alleged financial misdeeds by Pineda and Cardinal-archbishop Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B.. Allegations were referenced in December 2017 news reports (1, 2) and detailed in March 2018 news report. Pineda resigned as auxiliary bishop of Tegucigalpa on July 20, 2018, at age 57. Tegucigalpa auxiliary bishop emeritus.
ICELAND Bishop Joannes B.M. Gijsen *
Retired 2007, age 75. Dutch. News in 2010 of 1950s alleged abuse of two boys. Remained Reykjavik bishop emeritus. Died 2013. Dutch church acknowledged his guilt in 2014.
INDIA Bishop Franco Mulakkal
Accused in a police report filed June 29, 2018 of raping a Missionaries of Jesus’ nun in May 2014, then sexually abusing her multiple times for two years. The alleged victim reported the abuse in letters to the apostolic nuncio to India in January and June 2018. She said she also told Delhi Archbishop Couto in May 2018 when he visited her order's house at Kuravilangad. Yet church authorities took no action until September 2018, following a protest by fellow nuns in support of the victim at Kerala’s High Court. Mulakkal was relieved of his administrative duties on September 20 [see episcopal conference notice] and arrested September 21, 2018. He was released on bail mid-October 2018, returning home to hundreds of well-wishers. Mulakkal denies the abuse. He retains his title of bishop of Jullunderu while awaiting trial, which is expected to occur in 2019.
IRELAND Archbishop Richard A. Burke, S.P.S. * Accused 2009 of 1983 sexual abuse of 14-year-old girl in Nigeria. [See victim's statement.] Resigned 2010, age 61, per canon 401.2. Admitted "failure to observe his oath of celibacy." Sued RTÉ, claiming victim was 20, not 14. Suit settled 2015: RTÉ paid legal costs but made no concession on victim's age. Benin City archbishop emeritus.
Bishop Eamonn Casey
Resigned 1992, age 65, after revelation that he fathered a child in 1970s. Fled Ireland, worked in Ecuador missions, then English diocese. Accused 2005 of sexual assault of girl, age 5, 30 years earlier. Casey denied accusation. Not charged. Returned to Ireland 2006. In nursing home since 2011. New accusation April 2016 by a Limerick woman. Galway and Kilmacduagh bishop emeritus until his death March 13, 2017.
Bishop Brendan Oliver Comiskey, SS.CC. Resigned 2002, age 66, per canon 401.2, after revelations that he protected serial abuser Fr. Sean Fortune. Ferns inquiry in 2005 reported two allegations against Comiskey: 1990 complaint of misconduct toward young woman over age 16, and accusation by Fortune in his 1999 suicide note. Comiskey denied both. Ferns bishop emeritus.
Bishop John Magee, S.P.S. Stepped aside but didn’t resign 2009 after internal watchdog report that he had mishandled two abusive priests. State launched its own inquiry. Resignation announced 2010, per canon 401.2. State’s report 2011 revealed more cover-up and 2008 report to church of Magee’s inappropriate behavior toward teen, age 17-18. Magee admitted conduct, denied sexual intent. Not charged. Cloyne bishop emeritus.
Archbishop John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp.
Retired 1971, age 76, as Dublin archbishop. Died 1973. First accused of sex abuse in 1999 book. News in 2011 that McQuaid was cleric described in 2010 supplement to Murphy report with two complaints of child sex abuse, including of a 12-year-old boy in 1961, and one "separate concern."
ITALY
Bishop Gerardo Antonazzo Investigation April 2016 by prosecutors in Cassino, in response to a letter from a seminarian accusing Antonazzo of sexually molesting him and seven other adults. Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo bishop.
Bishop Giuseppe Carraro Retired 1978 as Verona bishop. Died 1980. Accused 2009 of repeatedly molesting boy who attended school for deaf. Carraro was being considered for beatification at time of complaint.
KENYA
Bishop Cornelius Schilder, M.H.M. *
Vatican informed in 2007 of reports of Schilder's early 1990s abuse of a Maasai herds boy. Dutch. Resigned 2009, age 67, per canon 401.2. Accused in 2013 of early 1990s sexual abuse of a young seminarian. Ngong bishop emeritus.
NETHERLANDS
Bishop Ronald Philippe Bär, O.S.B.
Resigned abruptly 1993, age 66, as bishop of Rotterdam and the Military diocese. Told a Dutch journalist his departure was due to blackmail and "rumors of homosexuality." Retired to Belgian monastery. Banned from public speaking in 2003 by Vatican. Deetman report 2011 said Bär had allowed unsuitable men to become priests. News report 2018: 20 of 39 Dutch bishops 1945-2010 were complicit in child sexual abuse, and four perpetrated abuse: Bär, Niënhaus (Utrecht), Gijsen (Roermond), and ter Schure (Den Bosch). Bär's alleged victims were seminarians. He remains bishop emeritus of Rotterdam.
Bishop Johannes Willem Maria Bluyssen
Resigned 1984, age 57, as s'Hertogenbosch bishop. Admitted 2010 to destroying abuse files in 1970s. Died 2013. Accused 2014 of repeated rape of Beekvliet minor seminary student 1957-1959. A church Complaints Committee announced August 2015 that evidence was not sufficient, although it did not "exclude" that the victim had been sexually abused.
Bishop Joannes B.M. Gijsen *
Retired 2007, age 75. Dutch. News in 2010 of 1950s alleged abuse of two boys. Remained Reykjavik, Iceland bishop emeritus. Died 2013. Dutch church acknowledged his guilt in 2014.
Bishop Jan Niënhaus Utrecht auxiliary bishop. Died 2000. Dutch church admitted 2014 he molested young boys 1950s-1970s.
Bishop Cornelius Schilder, M.H.M. *
Vatican informed in 2007 of reports of Schilder's early 1990s abuse of a Maasai herds boy. Dutch. Resigned 2009, age 67, per canon 401.2. Accused in 2013 of early 1990s sexual abuse of a young seminarian. Ngong bishop emeritus.
Bishop Joannes Gerardus ter Schure, S.D.B.
Retired 1998, age 76. s'Hertogenbosch bishop. Died 2003. News in 2010 that Salesians settled claim of sexual abuse of a boy by ter Schure at Don Rua monastery in Ugchelen 1948-53.
NIGERIA Archbishop Richard A. Burke, S.P.S. * Accused 2009 of 1983 sexual abuse of 14-year-old girl in Nigeria. [See victim's statement.] Resigned 2010, age 61, per canon 401.2. Admitted "failure to observe his oath of celibacy." Sued RTÉ, claiming victim was 20, not 14. Suit settled 2015: RTÉ paid legal costs but made no concession on victim's age. Benin City archbishop emeritus.
NORWAY Bishop Georg Müller, SS.CC.
Admitted 2009 to 1990s sexual abuse of boy. Resigned as Trondheim bishop same year, age 58, per canon 401.2. Emeritus. Died October 25, 2015.
PARAGUAY
Bishop Jorge Adolfo Carlos Livieres Banks Accused 2002 in criminal complaint by three young men of sexual assault of minors. Livieres filed counter-charges of extortion and libel. Accusers then produced document allegedly signed by Livieres showing he tried to pay them to stay quiet. Case stalled and ended ambiguously. Resigned 2003, age 74, per canon 401.2. Encarnación bishop emeritus until his death in 2018.
Bishop Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez, S.V.D.
Resigned as San Pedro bishop in 2005, age 55, per canon 401.2. Voluntarily laicized 2008 so that he could run for office. Paraguay president 2008-2012. Admitted 2009 to fathering a child in 2007; another woman said he had fathered her child too, and that their involvement began when she was 18 and Lugo still a bishop. Admitted 2012 to fathering child of another woman while bishop.
PERU Bishop Guillermo Martín Abanto Guzmán Fathered child in 2011. Resigned July 2013, age 49, per canon 401.2, after child's mother took him to court, demanding he recognize paternity. Peru Military bishop emeritus.
Bishop Gabino Miranda Melgarejo Removed as Ayachucho o Huamanga auxiliary bishop May 2013, age 53, after accused of molesting children he is said to have targeted during confession. Laicized July 2013.
PHILIPPINES Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani, Jr. Resigned 2003, age 63, per canon 401.2, after accused by secretary of sexual misconduct. Apologized. Novaliches bishop emeritus.
Bishop Filomeno Gonzales Bactol Accused 2007 of molesting boys by ex-missionary who himself faced deportation for alleged pedophilia in 1990s. Naval bishop.
Bishop Crisostomo A. Yalung Resigned 2002, age 49, per canon 401.2, after news he had fathered a child. Antipolo bishop emeritus.
POLAND Archbishop Juliusz Paetz Resigned 2002, age 67, after accused of sexually abusing young seminarians. Paetz denied the allegations. Banned from public ministry, but ban lifted by Vatican June 2010. Ban was at some point reinstated: in April 2016, Vatican warned Paetz to stop public appearances and resume private life of "repentance and prayer." Poznan archbishop emeritus.
Archbishop Józef Wesołowski *
Polish. Resigned as papal nuncio to Dominican Republic August 2013 and was secretly recalled to Vatican, just days before DR news media exposed his alleged sex assaults of children on Santo Domingo waterfront. Church officials did not inform DR law enforcement. Prosecution sought by both DR and Poland. Vatican reportedly rebuffed extradition request by Poland January 2014. Laicization announced June 2014, four days after DR bishop tweeted about seeing Wesołowski strolling in Rome. Diplomatic immunity removed August 2014, day after NY Times exposé. Put under house arrest in Vatican City State September 2014. Found with 100,000+ child abuse images on his laptop and Vatican-owned computer. Released from house arrest after 60 days; free to move around Vatican City State beginning late November 2014. Hospitalized night before his July 2015 trial in VCS, causing trial to be indefinitely postponed. Released from hospital one week later, and freed to walk around Vatican City, according to BBC. Found dead in his Vatican apartment August 28, 2015. Trial never resumed.
PORTUGAL
Bishop Carlos Alberto de Pinho Moreira Azevedo Accused 2010 of 1980s sexual abuse of seminarian. Appointed Official of Pontifical Council for Culture 2011.
PUERTO RICO
Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres
Accused February 2014 of lewd acts against a male minor shortly before becoming bishop in 2010, when an Arecibo parish priest. Bishop of Arecibo. Denied charges, said were "act of revenge." Diocese under scrutiny for mishandling of sex abuse cases. Archbishop Roberto González called the allegations "slander." Charges dismissed by Vatican April 2014. Accuser's attorney said client wasn't interviewed by Vatican. Info about Fernández Torres' alleged abuse reportedly withheld from Vatican by PR apostolic delegate Jozef Wesołowski.
SCOTLAND
Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien Resigned as archbishop February 2013, age 74, after accused publicly of sexual advances toward priests, dating to 1980s. [See also church announcement.] Issued partial admission and apology [1,2]. Remained Saint Andrews and Edinburgh archbishop emeritus. Following 2014 investigation of allegations by Bishop Charles Scicluna, Pope Francis in March 2015 accepted O'Brien's resignation of his "rights and privileges" as a Cardinal. He was allowed to retain the title, however. Died March 19, 2018.
Bishop Roderick Wright Resigned 1996, age 56, after admitting to sex with woman he counseled. Married the woman. Admitted to son with previous woman. Remained Argyll and The Isles bishop emeritus. Died 2005.
SOUTH AFRICA
Bishop Reginald Joseph Orsmond
Johannesburg bishop 1984-2002. Founded South Africa's Boys Town 1958; there until named bishop 1984. Died 2002. Accused in former Boys Town resident's 2007 memoir of of rape and molestation over a three-year period, beginning when the author was age 13 in the 1960s. Orsmond is said to have plied the boy with alcohol. Several other men also alleged sexual abuse as boys in the facility by Orsmond; an ex-staffer said it was an "open secret" that Orsmond had boys sleep in his room. Archdiocesan "professional conduct committee" deemed the allegations credible.
SWITZERLAND
Bishop Hansjörg Vogel Resigned 1995, age 44, after acknowledging impregnating woman. Basel {Bâle, Basilea} bishop emeritus.
UNITED STATES
Bishop Juan A. Arzube
Accused 2003 of sexual abuse of 11-year-old boy 1975-76. Remained Los Angeles CA auxiliary bishop emeritus. Died 2007.
Bishop Michael J. Bransfield
Implicated April 2012 by victim of ex-priest Stanley Gana during Philadelphia trial testimony. Separate allegation of 1970s fondling of high school student, reportedly a minor, revealed by prosecutor. Bransfield denied all abuse. [See his statement.] Never charged. Resigned as Wheeling-Charleston WV bishop September 13, 2018 after Pope Francis ordered an investigation into allegations that Bransfield sexually harassed adults. As of November 2018, church hotline had received complaints of bishop's alleged misconduct occurring in WV, PA and Washington DC.
Bishop Robert H. Brom Accused in 1990s of coercing young seminarian into sex in 1980s, while Duluth MN bishop. Accuser retracted allegation, reportedly as condition of $85K settlement. Retired 2013, age 75. San Diego CA bishop emeritus.
Bishop Tod D. Brown
News in 2007 of 1997 letter to church alleging Brown's sexual abuse of boy, age 12, in 1965. Church had deemed it not credible. Brown denied abuse. Never charged. Neither he nor victim interviewed by police. Retired 2012, age 75. Orange in California bishop emeritus.
Bishop Leonard P. Cowley
St. Paul MN auxiliary bishop 1958-1973. Died 1973. Name released February 2015 as one of 17 archdiocesan clergy accused of sexual abuse or misconduct with a minor. A man filed a claim that Cowley sexually abused him at age 15 during trip to northern Minnesota in 1968.
Bishop Harold J. Dimmerling
Rapid City SD bishop 1969-1987. Died 1987 at age 73 while in office. "Credible" allegation of child sexual abuse by Dimmerling revealed November 2018 by St. Cloud MN bishop Donald Kettler. Alleged abuse occurred sometime during Dimmerling's years as a St. Cloud diocesan priest (1940-1969).
Bishop Carroll T. Dozier
First bishop of Memphis diocese, 1971-1982. Died 1985 at age 74. News coverage of his enabling of abusers in 2010. In February 2019, the Richmond VA diocese, where Dozier was a priest 1937-1970, included him on its newly released list of clergy with credible and substantiated allegations of abuse of minors. It noted that an allegation against Dozier was reported after his death.
Bishop Paul V. Dudley
Retired 1995, age 68, as Sioux Falls SD bishop. Accused 2002 of fondling altar boy age 11 or 12 in 1950s. Accused also by two women. "Cleared" by church 2003. Remained emeritus. Died 2006.
Bishop Thomas L. Dupre Accused 2004 of sexual abuse of two youths more than 20 years previously. Resigned age 70, per canon 401.2, same day that news broke. Sent to treatment. Indicted but not tried, due to SOL. Remained Springfield MA bishop emeritus. Died December 20, 2016.
Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario Honolulu HI auxiliary bishop and bishop 1977-1993. Accused of child rape in 1985 letter to papal nuncio. Lawsuit 1991 dismissed on SOL grounds. Retired as bishop 1993, age 67. Stayed in ministry and remained emeritus. Not charged. Died 2003. Named by more alleged victims 2013 and 2014.
Bishop Louis E. Gelineau Resigned 1997, age 69, after accused of attempting to fondle then drown boy at Vermont orphanage in 1950. In 1997 deposition, denied 1993 sexual abuse of altar boy. Remains Providence RI bishop emeritus.
Bishop Timothy J. Harrington Worcester MA bishop 1983-1994. Died 1997. Accused 2005 of sexual abuse of boy from ages 11 to 15 in the 1950s.
Bishop Joseph H. Hart
Resigned as Cheyenne bishop 2001, age 70, per canon 401.2. In 2002, KC newspaper revealed Hart was reported to the KC-St.Joseph diocese in 1989 and 1992 for child molestation in the 1970s, when Hart was a KC priest 1956-1976. Hart was not charged. In July 2018, Cheyenne diocese announced it had re-opened investigation of alleged sexual abuse of minors by Hart when he was Cheyenne bishop (1976-2001). Bishop Biegler said 2002 criminal investigation in WY had been “flawed.” The KC-St. Joseph diocese then acknowledged its abuse settlements in 2008 and 2014 had included 10 KC victims of Hart. In August 2018, Cheyenne police re-opened investigation and Cheyenne diocese said it had heard from a third credible WY victim. Prosecution is possible: Wyoming has no statutes of limitations for child sex crimes. Hart remains Cheyenne WY bishop emeritus.
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard Accused February 2004 of paying teen for sex in 1970s and sexual misconduct with adult males. Hubbard denied allegations, saying he had not violated celibacy. Not charged. Hired own investigator who reported June 2004 "no credible evidence." Retired 2014, age 75. Albany NY bishop emeritus.
Bishop John J. Jenik
Auxiliary bishop of New York archdiocese since 2014. On October 29, 2018, Cardinal Dolan announced that archdiocese had found allegation that Jenik had sexually abused a minor in the 1980s "credible and substantiated." Victim described inappropriate relationship beginning in his early teens. Jenik denied the abuse. Removed from public ministry pending a Vatican review.
Bishop Robert N. Lynch
Denied 2001 accusation of sexual harassment by diocesan communications director. Church paid accuser $100K; bishop said it was severance, not hush money. Accuser's lawyer said there was "unwanted touching" but no "overt sexual actions."Retired age 76 in 2016 as St. Petersburg FL bishop.
Bishop Eugene A. Marino, S.S.J.
Resigned 1990, age 56, as Atlanta GA archbishop. Woman, age 27, soon went public regarding two-year sexual relationship with Marino, which he acknowledged. Remained archbishop emeritus. Died 2000.
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick
In the early 2000s, scholar Richard Sipe and others wrote publicly about McCarrick's sexual misconduct with adult seminarians and priests, but the story was not reported in the mainstream press. Allegation of abuse of a minor, made through the IRCP process, was announced by Cardinal Dolan in June 2018. McCarrick denied the allegation. The Metuchen diocese and the Newark archdiocese publicly acknowledged three settlements in 2005 and 2007 with two former seminarians. In July 2018, Pope Francis removed McCarrick from the College of Cardinals and ordered him to live a life of prayer and penance while an investigation proceeded. One of McCarrick's adult victims chose to come forward, and the allegations broke in the media. Another man abused as a minor came forward. In August 2018, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò released his "testimony" alleging that a network in the hierarchy, including Pope Francis, had knowledge of McCarrick's abuse of seminarians but took no action. Viganò also claimed that Pope Benedict had ordered McCarrick to live a life of prayer and penance, and that Pope Francis reinstated McCarrick. Vatican announced new investigation October 2018. On December 27, 2019, James Grein testified in the Vatican investigation that McCarrick had abused him as a boy during confession. News in January 2019 of third victim alleging child sex abuse by McCarrick, also in the NY archdiocese. CDF Congresso issued a laicization decree on January 11, 2019, finding McCarrick guilty of "solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power." McCarrick appealed, but the Ordinary Session of the CDF confirmed the decree on February 13, 2019. Sentence was rendered res iudicata – it cannot be appealed.
Bishop James Francis McCarthy
Resigned 2002, age 59, after admitting to sexual involvement with adult women. Remains New York NY auxiliary bishop emeritus.
Bishop John R. McGann
Rockville Centre bishop 1976-2000. Died 2002. Accused in 2/19 of having sexually abused, along with two other priests, two girls when he was a monsignor at a Rockville Centre parish in the 1960s and 1970s. Both alleged victims said that in once incident, when they were 11 in 1967, they were fondled while passed around the laps of priests, including McGann, at a Christmas party in the rectory.
Cardinal Humberto S. Medeiros
Boston MA archbishop 1970-83. Died 1983. Accused 2002 of sexually abusing 14-year-old boy in 1979. Accuser said Medeiros touched his groin while giving him a "bear hug" in the archdiocesan chancery, where he was allegedly molested the same evening by vice-chancellor Rev. Fred Ryan.
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
Stepped aside December 2013 after allegation of inappropriately touching boy's buttocks in 2009. Called allegation "entirely false." Resumed duties March 2014 after prosecutor announced no charges due to insufficient evidence. Internal investigation of alleged misconduct toward adults revealed July 2014. It reportedly found Nienstedt made "sexual advances" toward two priests. Nienstedt kept findings secret and, according to MPR report , authorized new investigation by second law firm. Resigned June 2015, per 401.2, soon after archdiocese was charged criminally for contributing to child sex abuse. December 2018 public letter by Archbishop Hebda, Nienstedt's successor, revealed additional allegation: as New Ulm bishop in 2005, Nienstedt allegedly invited two minors to his hotel room in Germany, undressed in front of them, and invited them to do the same. [See redacted account in prosecutor's affidavit, pp. 56-57.] Although Nienstedt denied incident, Hebda barred him from public ministry in Twin Cities. Nienstedt remains Saint Paul and Minneapolis MN archbishop emeritus.
Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien
Admitted in June 2003 to covering up child sexual abuse in his diocese. Arrested days later on charges related to a fatal hit-and-run auto accident, triggering his resignation at age 67. Convicted in that case and sentenced to probation and community service. Accused in a 2017 lawsuit of repeated sexual abuse of a boy in Arizona when the boy was in 2nd to 5th grades during 1977-1982. O'Brien denied the allegations.Remained Phoenix AZ bishop emeritus until he died in August 2018.
Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell
Admitted 2002 to 1970s sexual abuse of Missouri high school seminary student. Resigned immediately as Palm Beach FL bishop per canon 401.2, age 63. Numerous former students alleged abuse. Not charged. Remained bishop emeritus. Died 2012.
Bishop James S. Rausch
Phoenix AZ bishop 1977-1981. Died 1981. Accused in 2002 lawsuit of 1979 sexual abuse of 17-year-old boy.
Bishop George E. Rueger
Accused in 2002 lawsuit of 1960s sexual abuse of boy age 13-14. Denied allegation. Not charged. Alleged victim withdrew suit 2003. Retired age 75 in 2005. Worcester MA auxiliary bishop emeritus.
Bishop Daniel L. Ryan
Resigned 1999, age 69, week before lawsuit cited his hiring of male prostitutes. News 2002 that he solicited sex from boy, age 15, and sexually abused another, age 16-17. Not charged, due to SOL. Internal diocesan study 2006 confirmed Ryan's misconduct with adults. Remained Springfield IL bishop emeritus until he died in 2015.
Bishop Alexander Salazar
Appointed auxiliary bishop Los Angeles 2004. Alleged 'misconduct with minor' first made public December 2018, after Vatican announced Pope had accepted Salazar's resignation. However, archdiocese had known of allegation at least since 2005, according to 12/19/2018 public letter by Archbishop Gomez. Incident(s) occurred in 1990s, when Salazar was a parish priest. In letter, Gomez said he had reported case to CDF, which "imposed certain precautionary measures." Yet the public record shows Salazar in seemingly unrestricted bishop mode for years after archdiocese knew of allegation. See examples of his public appearances in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (1, 2), and 2017. Archbishop said review board found allegation "credible." Salazar denies wrongdoing.
Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez
Resigned 1993, age 59, after accused of sexual contact with at least 5 women; some were ages 18 and 19. Stayed in ministry. Remained Santa Fe NM archbishop emeritus. Died 2012.
Bishop William S. Skylstad
Accused 2005 of 1961-64 sexual abuse of girl under age 18. Skylstad denied the accusation, and investigator hired by him found no truth in the claim. Retired 2010, age 76. Spokane WA bishop emeritus.
Bishop Lawrence D. Soens
Resigned 1998, age 72. Accused publicly 2000s of ‘sadistic’ sexual abuse of 31 teen boys beginning late 1950s. Found guilty by 2008 review board. Not charged. Remains Sioux City IA bishop emeritus.
Cardinal Francis Joseph Spellman
New York NY archbishop 1939-1967. Accused in a February 2019 article of having groped a West Point cadet repeatedly during an interview for the school's magazine in 1967, in the presence of a monsignor and two other cadets. The monsignor allegedly was standing behind Spellman, and each time the Cardinal slid his hand up the cadet's thigh toward his crotch, the monsignor would stop the Cardinal by grabbing his wrist and whispering such things as, "Now, now, eminence." Spellman's accuser said that each time he was groped, then stopped, Spellman would take from a drawer a tie clasp, key chain, or gold-plated tie tack, which he would then give him. His accuser also said he learned later from other priests that Spellman's nickname was "Mary." Spellman died in December 1967.
Bishop James S. Sullivan
Resigned citing Alzheimer's, March 2002, per canon 401.2. Age 72. Accused June 2002 of 1966 fondling of boy, age 16, in Michigan. Denied accusation. Charges not pursued due to SOL. Remained Fargo ND bishop emeritus. Died 2006.
Bishop Joseph V. Sullivan
Baton Rouge LA bishop 1974-1982. Died 1982. Accused in 2000s of sexual abuse of three different teen boys, 1969-1982. Later bishop called claims credible, removed Sullivan's name from high school.
Bishop Joseph Keith Symons
Admitted 1995 to past sexual abuse of boy. Stayed in ministry. Remained Palm Beach FL bishop. Resigned 1998, age 65, after another victim emerged. Admitted to abuse of 5 boys. Not charged. Found in ministry 1999 in Lansing MI diocese. Bishop emeritus.
Archbishop Rembert George Weakland, O.S.B.
Resigned in 2002 immediately after news of $450K payment in 1998 to silence man accusing him of sexual assault when man was 32. Weakland had just turned 75, and resignation was accepted per canon 401.1 -- the age-75 rule applying to bishops in standard situations. Weakland denied abuse but admitted to sexual relationship. Remains Milwaukee WI archbishop emeritus, residing in PA monastery.
Bishop Christopher J. Weldon
Springfeld MA bishop 1950-1977. Died 1982. Accused 2005 of 1950s sexual abuse of boy, from ages 10 to 16.
Bishop Lawrence Harold Welsh
News in 2002 of police investigation 1986 alleging he had choked male prostitute during sex. Welsh admitted to most of accusation, except "amount of violence." No charges filed. Resigned as Spokane bishop 1990 after drunk driving arrest. Made Saint Paul and Minneapolis auxiliary bishop 1991. Died 1999.
Bishop James Kendrick Williams
Resigned age 65 in 2002, per canon 401.2, after accused of sexual abuse of two boys, 1969 and 1981, and young adult late 1980s. Denied abusing anyone. Lexington KY bishop emeritus.
Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann
Forced to resign 1999 at age 57 after allegation by younger priest of coercing sex. Accused early 2000s of sexual abuse of 3 different boys in 1960s and '70s. Remained Santa Rosa CA bishop emeritus. Died 2009.
URUGUAY
Bishop Francisco Domingo Barbosa Da Silveira
Resigned age 65 in 2009, per canon 401.2, after he filed extortion complaint revealing homosexual relations between him and two men. Remained Minas bishop emeritus. Died 2015.
WALES
Archbishop John Aloysius Ward, O.F.M. Cap.
Arrested 1999 for alleged assault of girl, age 7, 1960-61. Not charged. Said he was falsely accused. Resigned 2001 at age 72, per canon 401.2, after outcry at his mishandling of two abusive priests. Remained Cardiff archbishop emeritus. Died 2007.
___________________________
* assigned in more than one country during his career
Note: Inclusion in this list does not imply that individuals facing allegations are guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims. The reports contained in this list are merely allegations. The U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements.
We have excluded from the list the following allegations against bishops in the United States which were subsequently recanted or demonstrated to be incorrect: two allegations in 1992 against Bishop Gerald F. O'Keefe 1 2 (Davenport, Iowa); two allegations in 2002 against Cardinal Roger M. Mahony 3 4 5 (Los Angeles, California); and an allegation in 2002 against Cardinal Edward M. Egan 6 (New York, New York).
This page was last updated March 12, 2019.
BishopAccountability.org
Bishops Accused of Sexual Abuse and Misconduct A Global Accounting The latest research by BishopAccountability.org identifies 101 Catholic bishops worldwide who have been accused publicly of sexual wrongdoing. Those marked in red allegedly abused minors; those in black are publicly accused of sexual abuse/sexual misconduct with adults only. Until the 2018 revelations of alleged child sexual abuse by former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the problem of bishops and major superiors who abuse had received little scrutiny. Yet a sexually abusive bishop or superior is exceptionally dangerous. His management of priests is skewed toward protecting his secret, beginning with the character of men he accepts to the seminary and the quality of their formation. When one of his priests is accused of sexual abuse, a bishop who is also an offender is unlikely to punish the priest or contact law enforcement. He is, inevitably, an enabler of other sexual criminals, harming not only his own victims, but those who are raped or assaulted by the abusive clerics to whom he gives safe harbor. In the Catholic church, “sexual corruption is conferred from the top down – from men in power,” wrote celibacy scholar Richard Sipe. Bishops who sexually abuse seminarians, as McCarrick is canonically convicted of doing, and as Bishop Anthony J. O’Connell admitted doing, may establish what Sipe called “a genealogy of abuse,” setting up “a pattern of institutional secrecy.” Despite the extensive harm done by abusive church leaders, few have been severely disciplined. Only seven have been laicized: Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez of Paraguay (2008), Raymond J. Lahey of Canada (2012), Gabino Miranda Melgarejo of Peru (2013), Jósef Wesołowski of Poland (2014), Francisco José Cox Huneeus of Chile (2018), Marco Antonio Órdenes Fernández of Chile (2018), and Theodore McCarrick of the United States (2019). All of the remaining bishops named below, even those found guilty under canon law, have been allowed to retain the title of bishop and to be called emeritus, a status that confers continued prestige and power. According to a 2008 document by the Congregation for Bishops, when a bishop becomes emeritus, he merely is beginning ‘a new phase of his ministry.’ Though relieved of administrative duties, he retains his membership in the college of bishops and continues to ‘collaborate in the governance of the church.’ | ||
COUNTRY Argentina | Australia | Austria | Belgium | Brazil | Canada | Chile | Dominican Republic | France | Germany | Guam | Honduras | Iceland |India | Ireland | Italy | Kenya | Netherlands | Nigeria | Norway | Paraguay | Peru | Philippines | Poland | Portugal | Puerto Rico | Scotland | South Africa | Switzerland | United States | Uruguay | Wales |
||
ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS Apuron | Arzube | Bactol | Bluyssen | Bransfield | Brown | Burke | Camacho | Carraro | Casey | Contreras Molina | Cowley | Cox Huneeus | Davis | di Falco Léandri | Duarte García de Cortázar | Delgado | Dimmerling | Dozier | Dudley | Dupre | Fernández Torres | Ferrario | Flores | Gelineau | Gijsen | Groër | Harrington | Hart | Hubbard | Janssen | Jenik | Lahey | LaRocque | Livieres Banks | Magee | McCarrick | McGann | McQuaid | Medeiros | Miranda Melgarejo | Mixa | Müller | Niënhaus | Nienstedt | O'Brien | O'Connell | Órdenes Fernández | Orsmond | Pagotto | Pell | Pellegrín Barrera |Rausch | Rueger | Ryan | Salazar | Schilder | Skylstad | Soens | Storni | Sullivan, James | Sullivan, Joseph | Symons | ter Schure | Vangheluwe | Ward | Weldon | Wesołowski | Williams | Ziemann ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF OR MISCONDUCT WITH ADULTS ONLY Antonazzo | Barbosa Da Silveira | Abanto Guzmán | Bacani | Bär | Brom | Comiskey | Eisenbach | Ferreira da Silva | Knight | Lugo Méndez | Lynch | Maccarone | Marino | McCarthy | Moreira Azevedo | Mulakkal | O'Brien | O'Connor | Paetz | Pineda | Tejeda Rosario | Sanchez | Sarto | Spellman | Uriona | Vogel | Weakland | Welsh | Wright | Yalung | Zanchetta |
ARGENTINA
Bishop Juan Carlos Maccarone
Resigned in 2005, age 64, per canon 401.2 after video surfaced of him having sex with 23-year-old man. Remained in ministry. Seen 2010 saying Confirmation Mass for teenagers. Santiago del Estero bishop emeritus. Died March 2015.
Archbishop Edgardo G. Storni
Resigned October 2002, age 66, per canon 401.2 after reports he abused dozens of young men and boys. Some of the alleged victims were as young as 15 or 16. Convicted 2009 and sentenced to eight years in prison for sexual abuse of a seminarian who was reportedly age 18. Appeals court overturned sentence 2011, ordering lower court to re-sentence. Storni remained Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz archbishop emeritus. He died 2012, before lower court had re-issued sentence. In 2016, a civil court ordered the church to pay $50,000 (756,000 pesos) in moral damages to victim whose charges had resulted in conviction. This ruling was reversed on appeal in 2018, with the higher court finding that the incidents were prescribed.
Bishop Adolfo A. Uriona, F.D.P. Arrested 2006 after a 24-year-old woman accused him of groping her during a bus ride. Denied the charge. Case dismissed. Visited pope 2014. Añatuya bishop in 2004 until he was appointed bishop of Villa de la Concepción in December 2014.
Bishop Gustavo Óscar Zanchetta
Named bishop of Orán 7/23/2013. This was one of first episcopal appointments by Pope Francis, with whom Zanchetta has said he has 'a very close relationship.' Lay leaders in Zanchetta's prior diocese of Quilmes publicly protested the appointment, citing his alleged financial misdealings and abuse of power. Zanchetta abruptly resigned Orán post 7/29/2017, leaving the diocese "in a matter of hours," skipping the customary farewell Mass. In a brief public letter, Zanchetta attributed his hasty departure to ill health, but local media reported Zanchetta's alleged financial mismanagement and harsh treatment of respected priests. On 12/19/2017, Vatican announced Zanchetta's appointment to APSA, the office that manages the Holy See’s 5000+ properties and other financial holdings. Zanchetta's position, 'assessor,' hadn't existed previously; it was created for him, reportedly upon orders from the Pope. On 12/28/2018, the Salta newspaper El Tribuno reported Zanchetta's alleged sexual abuse of seminarians. Vatican announced 1/4/2019 that Zanchetta would step down while allegations were investigated; spokesperson said that allegations had first come to their attention in the fall of 2018. This was contradicted by an El Tribuno report, that Orán priests had informed papal nuncio Emil Tscherrig in 2015 of the bishop's alleged sexual abuse of seminarians. In 1/20/2019 AP report, former Orán vicar general said Pope had met with Zanchetta in both 2015 and 2017 to discuss allegations. Vatican again denied that there had been prior accusations of sexual abuse.
AUSTRALIA Cardinal George Pell
Accused 2002 of 1961 or 1962 sex abuse of 12-year-old boy while Pell was seminarian. Denying allegation, Pell stood aside as Sydney archbishop, while church asked former judge to investigate. Report said accuser "gave the impression he was speaking honestly" but crime could not be established. Pell resumed office. Appointed by Pope 2014 to head Vatican's new Secretariat of the Economy. News broken by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) July 2016 of multiple additional complaints investigated by Victorian police. Pell allegedly fondled the genitals and anuses of two boys in a pool in 1978-1979, and may have exposed himself to three boys in 1986-1987. Another allegation involved unspecified abuse of two teen choirboys in 1990s. Pell's office called the allegations "totally untrue" and accused ABC of a "scandalous smear campaign." In a 2nd statement, Pell urged an inquiry of the Victoria police, accusing them of leaking reports to the ABC. [See the half-hour ABC TV program transcript.] A book published in May 2017 contained detailed claims that Pell had sexually abused two choirboys at St. Patrick's Cathedral in east Melbourne in the late 1990s, when Pell was archbishop and after he had initiated the Melbourne Response. On June 29, 2017, Victoria police announced that Pell would face "multiple charges" and that there were "multiple complainants." In response, the Sydney archdiocese said that Pell "strenuously" denies the allegations and will return home pending doctors' approval to "defend the charges vigorously." [See our timeline of the police investigation.] He becomes the highest ranking Catholic Church official to be criminally charged with child sexual abuse. A "committal hearing" took place in March 2018, with testimony from victims and cross-examination by Pell's defense. On May 1, 2018, a Victorian magistrate dismissed several of the charges but ruled that the remaining evidence warranted a trial.
On December 11, 2018, Cardinal Pell was convicted on five counts of “historical child sexual offenses" by a unanimous jury. The offenses reportedly relate to his abuse of two choirboys in Melbourne in the 1990s. According to unidentified sources in news reports, Pell continues to maintain his innocence, and he will appeal the verdict. He will be sentenced in February 2019. Also in 2019, he will face a second trial, for alleged molestation of other minors.
Bishop Max L. Davis
Criminally charged June 2014 with 1969 sexual abuse of child in New Norcia, prior to ordination. Denied the charge. Stepped aside as Australia's Military bishop while court case active. Tried in Perth court February 2016 on charges of "indecent dealings" with five boys, ages 13-15, between 1969-1972. Found not guilty.
AUSTRIA Cardinal Hans H. Groër, O.S.B. Accused publicly 1995 of abusing boys and young monks. Retired as archbishop soon after, age 75, with JP II saying Christ too faced "unjust accusations." Named head of priory 1996. Removal announced early 1998, after more victims surfaced. Schönborn and 3 others confirmed Groër's abuses February 1998. Resigned April 1998 from all duties. Remained cardinal and Vienna archbishop emeritus. Some estimated 2,000 victims. Died 2003.
BELGIUM Bishop Roger J. Vangheluwe Resigned 2010, age 73, per canon 401.2 after admitting to sexual abuse of boy, later revealed to be his nephew. Sent by Vatican to monastery in France for "spiritual and psychological treatment." Admitted on television in April 2011 to abuse of two nephews, one beginning at age 5, over 13-year period in 1970s and '80s. Left monastery amidst public outcry three days after TV appearance. Not prosecuted due to expired statute of limitations. Current whereabouts unknown. Brugge {Bruges} bishop emeritus.
BRAZIL
Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva
Bishop of Rio Preto 2012 to present (2019). News in August 2018 of investigation by papal envoy. Ferreira da Silva is suspected of sexually harassing a young man. Also accused of protecting abusive priests, including one who was arrested in 2017 for possessing pornographic images of children.
Archbishop Aldo di Cillo Pagotto
Resigned 2016, age 66, per canon 401.2, after Vatican investigation into charges he accepted into the archdiocese priests and seminiarians rejected by other dioceses for suspected pedophilia. In a public letter explaining his resignation, Pagotto said his welcome of problem priests was an act of mercy. In January 2019, civil court ordered Paraíba archdiocese to pay victims 12 million Brazilian real or US $3,229,740. The victims had been sexually abused as children or young adults by Pagotto and four Paraíba priests. Pagotto remains Paraíba archbishop emeritus.
Bishop Antônio Sarto, S.D.B.
Bishop of Barra do Garças 1982-2001. Priest went public in 2005 ISTOÉ feature, accusing Sarto of sexual harassment beginning when the priest was ordained in 1988. Priest reported Sarto to ecclesiastical tribunal and then, in 2003, to Vatican. Nothing was done. Sarto died September 2008. Bishops' conference praised him, saying he had served with a 'pastor's zeal and father's love.'
CANADA Bishop John S. Knight Accused 2000 of sexual misconduct with person over age 16. Not known if alleged victim was under age 18. Church deemed allegation "substantive enough to warrant a full examination." Removed from ministry during Church investigation. Resigned same year, age 58. Toronto bishop emeritus.
Bishop Raymond J. Lahey
Arrested in 2009 for possession of child abuse images. Resigned as Antigonish bishop in 2009 per canon 401.2, age 69. Pled guilty in 2011. Sentenced in 2012 but given time served. Laicized in 2012.
Bishop Eugène P. LaRocque
Retired 2002. Investigated late 1990s-early 2000s by police probing sexual abuse in Cornwall. Per LaRocque, original allegations date to 1961. Not charged. Accused 2005 of 1970s sexual abuse of altar boy. Denied all accusations. Remained Alexandria-Cornwall bishop emeritus until his death in December 2018.
Bishop Hubert P. O’Connor, O.M.I. Resigned 1991, age 63, after charged with sex crimes. The alleged incidents took place between 1964 and 1967, when O'Connor was a priest and the principal of the St. Joseph's residential school near Williams Lake, British Columbia. He was charged with two counts of rape and two counts of indecent assault; each count related to a separate complainant, each of whom was a former student employed at the school. The victims were young aboriginal women, all reportedly older than 18. Convicted 1996 of one charge of indecent assault of one woman and one charge of raping another woman. Sentenced to 2½ years in prison. Released on bail after serving 6 months. Conviction on indecent assault was changed to acquittal in 1998. Remained Prince George bishop emeritus. Died 2007.
CHILE Bishop Cristián E. Contreras Molina, O. de M.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Contreras at age 71 in September 2018. Contreras, who formerly led the diocese of San Felipe, remains a bishop emeritus. Chilean prosecutors are investigating claims that Contreras repeatedly abused a minor in the bishop’s house a decade ago. He denied this accusation in September 2018, saying "I feel absolutely free of any suggestion of any attitude of abuse or something related to sex." He was previously investigated for alleged sexual abuse of a 15-year-old. In 2013, the Vatican sent two priests to investigate but no sanctions were imposed.
Archbishop Francisco José Cox Huneeus, P. Schönstatt Laicized by Pope Francis in October 2018 at age 84. Cox is under investigation for abusing minors in Chile and Germany. Cox resigned as the archbishop of La Serena in 1997 at age 63. At the time, the Church cited mental health reasons. In 2002, abuse rumors appeared in local newspapers, and the Church acknowledged Cox had been removed from ministry due to “improper conduct.” Later that year, Cox released a statement asking forgiveness “for this dark side that is opposed to the Gospel.”
Bishop Gonzalo Duarte García de Cortázar, SS.CC.
Bishop emeritus of Valparaíso. Accused of covering up abuse by other clergy members as well as committing abuse himself. Pope Francis accepted his resignation in June 2018 at age 75, the standard retirement age for bishops. Duarte served as Chile’s military bishop between 1995 and 1999 and is expected to testify in November 2018 about alleged abuses by Air Force chaplain Pedro Quiroz and how the accusations were handled. In addition, Duarte himself was accused in 2014 of abusing adolescent seminarians.
Former Bishop Marco Antonio Órdenes Fernández
Former Bishop Órdenes was expelled from the priesthood at age 53 by Pope Francis in October 2018. He had resigned as the Bishop of Iquique in 2012 during a Vatican investigation into accusations he molested an altar boy years earlier, but remained archbishop emeritus until he was laicized. Órdenes acknowledged “an imprudent act” with his accuser, but said the youth was 17 and thus not underage at the time. His accuser had said the abuse began when he was 15. He said at first it was forced, but they later became lovers. In January 2018, sex crimes charges against Órdenes were dismissed after an appeals court ruled there was not enough evidence.
Bishop Carlos Eduardo Pellegrín Barrera, S.V.D.
Pope Francis accepted Bishop Pellegrín’s resignation at age 60 in September 2018. Pellegrín, who remains a bishop emeritus, headed the diocese of San Bartolome de Chillan, whose headquarters was raided by prosecutors one week before his resignation. Pellegrín is under investigation by Chile’s Public Ministry for abuse allegations that arose in August 2018. He also was investigated in 2011 after an anonymous accusation. After his resignation, he indicated he would fight the legal charges and asked for forgiveness “for the times when I was not at the height of what my responsibility as a pastor requires.”
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Bishop Príamo Pericles Tejeda Rosario
Resigned as Baní bishop in 1997, age 63, then worked as priest in Venice FL. Accused in 2007 of sexual assault of a 42-year-old man for 11 years. Venice diocese removed faculties. Not charged. Baní bishop emeritus.
Archbishop Józef Wesołowski *
Polish. Resigned as papal nuncio to Dominican Republic August 2013 and was secretly recalled to Vatican, just days before DR news media exposed his alleged sex assaults of children on Santo Domingo waterfront. Church officials did not inform DR law enforcement. Prosecution sought by both DR and Poland. Vatican reportedly rebuffed extradition request by Poland January 2014. Laicization announced June 2014, four days after DR bishop tweeted about seeing Wesołowski strolling in Rome. Diplomatic immunity removed August 2014, day after NY Times exposé. Put under house arrest in Vatican City State September 2014. Found with 100,000+ child abuse images on his laptop and Vatican-owned computer. Released from house arrest after 60 days; free to move around Vatican City State beginning late November 2014. Hospitalized night before his July 2015 trial in VCS, causing trial to be indefinitely postponed. Released from hospital one week later, and freed to walk around Vatican City, according to BBC. Found dead in his Vatican apartment August 28, 2015. Trial never resumed.
FRANCE Bishop Jean-Michel di Falco Léandri
News in 2002 of 2001 criminal complaint against di Falco. Man said he was age 12 in 1972 when alleged sexual assaults by di Falco began. Case dropped 2002 because of prescription. In 2016, same complainant filed civil case, suing di Falco for damages. He was supported by second alleged di Falco victim. Di Falco resigned as Gap bishop in 2017, at age 75. Court ruled in his favor in March 2018, saying filing period had expired. Victim ordered to pay bishop's legal fees. Di Falco denies any wrongdoing. He remains Gap bishop emeritus.
GERMANY Bishop Franziskus Eisenbach
Resigned age 58 in 2002 per canon 401.2 after female university professor accused him of sexual abuse while performing an exorcism. Mainz auxilary bishop emeritus.
Bishop Heinrich Maria Janssen
Hildesheim bishop 1957 until retirement in 1983, age 76. Died 1988. Accused in 2015 of sexual abuse of a boy from 1958 to 1963, beginning when the boy was age 10. Abuse was said to have included masturbation, anal and oral sex. Diocesan investigators deemed the accusations "plausible" and awarded Janssen's accuser 10,000 euros "in recognition of his suffering." In October 2018 a 70-year-old man alleged abuse in 1957 by Janssen, and by two other priests who were involved with children's homes. Janssen's first accuser stated that Janssen was a "great patron" of the children's homes and "liked to hang out there often."
Bishop Walter Mixa Resigned age 69 in 2010 per canon 401.2 after accusations he severely beat children at at a Schrobenhausen orphanage in the 1970s and misappropriated the orphanage's funds. Reportedly sexually abused minors, including an altar boy; Office of Public Prosecution opened investigation which it soon closed, citing insufficient evidence. Accused also of sexually abusing seminarians between 1996 and 2005. Augsburg bishop emeritus.
GUAM Archbishop Anthony Sablan Apuron, O.F.M.Cap. Agaña archbishop 1986-Present. Found guilty of canonical crimes and sentenced to removal from office and exile from Guam, according to March 16, 2018 press release by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Apuron quickly announced he would file an appeal. Penalties do not take effect until and unless the appeal fails.
Background and Chronology
Apuron is a member of Neocatechumenal Way, a controversial church movement. He sparked a public outcry in 2011 when he deeded a $40M+ church property in Yona for indefinite use as a Neocatechumenate seminary and theological institute (see pages 77-80 of September 2016 archdiocesan report).
In October 2014, he dismissed Deacon Steven Martinez from the archdiocesan review board after Martinez accused him of ignoring church sex abuse policy by harboring Rev. John Wadeson, who had been accused twice of child sex abuse in the U.S..
In late November 2014, Guam news media reported that Apuron had met privately at the Vatican with Pope Francis and the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (see Vatican bulletin). At around the same time, a man named John Toves publicly accused the archbishop of sexually abusing his cousin when Toves and his cousin attended a high school seminary in the early 1980s. The archdiocesan review board said it would not investigate Toves' allegation.
The archdiocese was visited by a high-ranking Vatican official who had received letters of complaint about Apuron from Guamanian Catholics in January 2015.
In August 2015, the Vatican reportedly was notified of Apuron's alleged rape of a former altar boy, Walter Denton, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel church in Agat in 1977. However, Denton did not go public until June 2016, shortly after public allegations that Apuron had sexually assaulted two other altar boys at the same parish in the 1970s: Roy Quintanilla released a letter accusing Apuron of molesting him at age 12; and Doris Concepcion came forward to say that Apuron had sexually abused her late son, Joseph A. Quinata, when Quinata was an 11-year-old altar boy in the late 1970s.
Apuron denied all the allegations, attributing them to a malicious plot against him.
Apuron was placed on leave by Pope Francis June 6, 2016. The Agana archdiocese was assigned a temporary administrator, Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai, secretary for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. A week later, another former altar boy at Our Lady of Mount Carmel came forward to accuse Apuron of sexually assaulting him at age 15 in 1977.
On July 1, 2016, four victims filed a lawsuit against Apuron for libel and slander. On July 27, 2016, Hon stated that Apuron's alleged abuses had been reported to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Hon also said he had removed from the archdiocesan website all of Apuron's threats against accusers. By August 2016, at least five men had accused Apuron of abusing them as boys.
On August 13, 2016, a news outlet published an account by a man who says he witnessed child sex abuse by Apuron in 1964, when the man was a 10-year-old altar boy at Our Lady of Peace and Safe Journey Catholic Church in Chalan Pago. He said he witnessed another altar boy, also age 10, being sexually assaulted by the parish priest and by Apuron, then age 19.
In the meantime, Hon revealed that Apuron had disobeyed an order by Pope Francis to terminate use of the Yona property by the Neocatechumenates. On September 15, 2016, Hon released a letter saying he had asked Pope Francis to remove Apuron. On September 16, 2016, Hon released a report on the controversial Neocatechumenate seminary, the Redemptoris Mater House of Formation. On September 20, 2016, an archdiocesan spokesperson said (1, 2) that the Neocatechumenates in Guam had a powerful ally in Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. On September 30, 2016, the archdiocese announced that Apuron would be put on canonical trial for his alleged crimes.
On October 31, 2016, the Vatican announced the appointment of Michael Byrnes, auxiliary bishop of Detroit, as coadjutor archbishop "with special faculties" to the Agaña archdiocese. The Vatican has "just formed all the conditions for the trial," Hon told reporters in early November.
On November 9, 2016, the archdiocese regained control of the Yona property, when Byrnes cancelled Apuron's controversial 2011 deeds that had given the property to the Neocatechumenates.
On January 11, 2017, a private investigator hired by the attorney for Apuron accusers found the archbishop living in a private home in Fairfield, California. The home is owned by the vice president of the Bank of Guam’s San Francisco branch.
Cardinal Raymond Burke was sent by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to preside over the canonical trial, which commenced in February 2017; Apuron was not required to attend.
Canon lawyer Patrick Wall said of confidential church documents obtained by a news outlet that the documents indicate that Apuron's case was known to the Vatican in 2008, as shown by the case's protocol number and year.
On July 6, 2017, Coadjutor Archbishop Michael Byrnes stated, "I think it would be a disaster if Archbishop Apuron were to return as the bishop of record."
In October 2017, Archbishop Byrnes said that the Vatican tribunal had reached a conclusion about Apuron.
In January 2018, Apuron's nephew filed a federal lawsuit against the archdiocese, alleging that Apuron had raped him in 1989 or 1990, when the nephew was age 15 or 16. This was the first allegation that Apuron had perpetrated sexual assault after becoming archbishop. Apuron responded by saying he was innocent of all allegations against him. The archbishop was photographed in an affectionate encounter with Pope Francis in February 2018.
On March 16, 2018, the Apostolic Tribunal for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that Apuron had been found guilty of "certain of the accusations" he has faced. It is not known which of his possible canonical crimes earned him the guilty verdict. In addition to child sexual abuse, the archbishop has been accused of enabling child sexual abuse, causing scandal, financial misconduct, disobedience, and doctrinal waywardness.
In announcing his intention to appeal the verdict, Apuron said he was relieved that the Vatican had dismissed the majority of the allegations against him.
Bishop Tomas Aguon Camacho Accused in a lawsuit filed in February 2017 of the rape and sexual abuse of a 10-year-old altar boy on Guam approximately 1971-1974. Accused in a second lawsuit, filed in 4/2017, of repeated sexual abuse of another 10-year-old altar boy, in the early 1960s at a Mongmong parish. Second accuser said he found porn in the rectory and Camacho caught him, perfomed sex acts on him, then threatened to tell the boy's mother he looked at porn if he told. Bishop Emeritus of Chalan Kanoa, Northern Mariana Islands. Died March 5, 2018.
Archbishop Felixberto Camacho Flores
Appointed Agaña Apostolic Administrator 1970, Bishop 1971, then Archbishop 1984. Died October 25, 1985. Accused in a May 3,1 2017 lawsuit of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy in 1966. His accuser said he was a student at Cathedral Grade School at the time and Flores was an Agaña Cathedral priest.
HONDURAS Bishop Juan José Pineda Fasquelle, C.M.F.
Accused 2017 by two former seminarians of sexual abuse in the early 2010's, when Pineda taught at Tegucigalpa archdiocesan seminary. Alleged victims submitted testimonies to papal envoy, who visited archdiocese in May 2017. Envoy also investigated alleged financial misdeeds by Pineda and Cardinal-archbishop Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B.. Allegations were referenced in December 2017 news reports (1, 2) and detailed in March 2018 news report. Pineda resigned as auxiliary bishop of Tegucigalpa on July 20, 2018, at age 57. Tegucigalpa auxiliary bishop emeritus.
ICELAND Bishop Joannes B.M. Gijsen *
Retired 2007, age 75. Dutch. News in 2010 of 1950s alleged abuse of two boys. Remained Reykjavik bishop emeritus. Died 2013. Dutch church acknowledged his guilt in 2014.
INDIA Bishop Franco Mulakkal
Accused in a police report filed June 29, 2018 of raping a Missionaries of Jesus’ nun in May 2014, then sexually abusing her multiple times for two years. The alleged victim reported the abuse in letters to the apostolic nuncio to India in January and June 2018. She said she also told Delhi Archbishop Couto in May 2018 when he visited her order's house at Kuravilangad. Yet church authorities took no action until September 2018, following a protest by fellow nuns in support of the victim at Kerala’s High Court. Mulakkal was relieved of his administrative duties on September 20 [see episcopal conference notice] and arrested September 21, 2018. He was released on bail mid-October 2018, returning home to hundreds of well-wishers. Mulakkal denies the abuse. He retains his title of bishop of Jullunderu while awaiting trial, which is expected to occur in 2019.
IRELAND Archbishop Richard A. Burke, S.P.S. * Accused 2009 of 1983 sexual abuse of 14-year-old girl in Nigeria. [See victim's statement.] Resigned 2010, age 61, per canon 401.2. Admitted "failure to observe his oath of celibacy." Sued RTÉ, claiming victim was 20, not 14. Suit settled 2015: RTÉ paid legal costs but made no concession on victim's age. Benin City archbishop emeritus.
Bishop Eamonn Casey
Resigned 1992, age 65, after revelation that he fathered a child in 1970s. Fled Ireland, worked in Ecuador missions, then English diocese. Accused 2005 of sexual assault of girl, age 5, 30 years earlier. Casey denied accusation. Not charged. Returned to Ireland 2006. In nursing home since 2011. New accusation April 2016 by a Limerick woman. Galway and Kilmacduagh bishop emeritus until his death March 13, 2017.
Bishop Brendan Oliver Comiskey, SS.CC. Resigned 2002, age 66, per canon 401.2, after revelations that he protected serial abuser Fr. Sean Fortune. Ferns inquiry in 2005 reported two allegations against Comiskey: 1990 complaint of misconduct toward young woman over age 16, and accusation by Fortune in his 1999 suicide note. Comiskey denied both. Ferns bishop emeritus.
Bishop John Magee, S.P.S. Stepped aside but didn’t resign 2009 after internal watchdog report that he had mishandled two abusive priests. State launched its own inquiry. Resignation announced 2010, per canon 401.2. State’s report 2011 revealed more cover-up and 2008 report to church of Magee’s inappropriate behavior toward teen, age 17-18. Magee admitted conduct, denied sexual intent. Not charged. Cloyne bishop emeritus.
Archbishop John Charles McQuaid, C.S.Sp.
Retired 1971, age 76, as Dublin archbishop. Died 1973. First accused of sex abuse in 1999 book. News in 2011 that McQuaid was cleric described in 2010 supplement to Murphy report with two complaints of child sex abuse, including of a 12-year-old boy in 1961, and one "separate concern."
ITALY
Bishop Gerardo Antonazzo Investigation April 2016 by prosecutors in Cassino, in response to a letter from a seminarian accusing Antonazzo of sexually molesting him and seven other adults. Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo bishop.
Bishop Giuseppe Carraro Retired 1978 as Verona bishop. Died 1980. Accused 2009 of repeatedly molesting boy who attended school for deaf. Carraro was being considered for beatification at time of complaint.
KENYA
Bishop Cornelius Schilder, M.H.M. *
Vatican informed in 2007 of reports of Schilder's early 1990s abuse of a Maasai herds boy. Dutch. Resigned 2009, age 67, per canon 401.2. Accused in 2013 of early 1990s sexual abuse of a young seminarian. Ngong bishop emeritus.
NETHERLANDS
Bishop Ronald Philippe Bär, O.S.B.
Resigned abruptly 1993, age 66, as bishop of Rotterdam and the Military diocese. Told a Dutch journalist his departure was due to blackmail and "rumors of homosexuality." Retired to Belgian monastery. Banned from public speaking in 2003 by Vatican. Deetman report 2011 said Bär had allowed unsuitable men to become priests. News report 2018: 20 of 39 Dutch bishops 1945-2010 were complicit in child sexual abuse, and four perpetrated abuse: Bär, Niënhaus (Utrecht), Gijsen (Roermond), and ter Schure (Den Bosch). Bär's alleged victims were seminarians. He remains bishop emeritus of Rotterdam.
Bishop Johannes Willem Maria Bluyssen
Resigned 1984, age 57, as s'Hertogenbosch bishop. Admitted 2010 to destroying abuse files in 1970s. Died 2013. Accused 2014 of repeated rape of Beekvliet minor seminary student 1957-1959. A church Complaints Committee announced August 2015 that evidence was not sufficient, although it did not "exclude" that the victim had been sexually abused.
Bishop Joannes B.M. Gijsen *
Retired 2007, age 75. Dutch. News in 2010 of 1950s alleged abuse of two boys. Remained Reykjavik, Iceland bishop emeritus. Died 2013. Dutch church acknowledged his guilt in 2014.
Bishop Jan Niënhaus Utrecht auxiliary bishop. Died 2000. Dutch church admitted 2014 he molested young boys 1950s-1970s.
Bishop Cornelius Schilder, M.H.M. *
Vatican informed in 2007 of reports of Schilder's early 1990s abuse of a Maasai herds boy. Dutch. Resigned 2009, age 67, per canon 401.2. Accused in 2013 of early 1990s sexual abuse of a young seminarian. Ngong bishop emeritus.
Bishop Joannes Gerardus ter Schure, S.D.B.
Retired 1998, age 76. s'Hertogenbosch bishop. Died 2003. News in 2010 that Salesians settled claim of sexual abuse of a boy by ter Schure at Don Rua monastery in Ugchelen 1948-53.
NIGERIA Archbishop Richard A. Burke, S.P.S. * Accused 2009 of 1983 sexual abuse of 14-year-old girl in Nigeria. [See victim's statement.] Resigned 2010, age 61, per canon 401.2. Admitted "failure to observe his oath of celibacy." Sued RTÉ, claiming victim was 20, not 14. Suit settled 2015: RTÉ paid legal costs but made no concession on victim's age. Benin City archbishop emeritus.
NORWAY Bishop Georg Müller, SS.CC.
Admitted 2009 to 1990s sexual abuse of boy. Resigned as Trondheim bishop same year, age 58, per canon 401.2. Emeritus. Died October 25, 2015.
PARAGUAY
Bishop Jorge Adolfo Carlos Livieres Banks Accused 2002 in criminal complaint by three young men of sexual assault of minors. Livieres filed counter-charges of extortion and libel. Accusers then produced document allegedly signed by Livieres showing he tried to pay them to stay quiet. Case stalled and ended ambiguously. Resigned 2003, age 74, per canon 401.2. Encarnación bishop emeritus until his death in 2018.
Bishop Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez, S.V.D.
Resigned as San Pedro bishop in 2005, age 55, per canon 401.2. Voluntarily laicized 2008 so that he could run for office. Paraguay president 2008-2012. Admitted 2009 to fathering a child in 2007; another woman said he had fathered her child too, and that their involvement began when she was 18 and Lugo still a bishop. Admitted 2012 to fathering child of another woman while bishop.
PERU Bishop Guillermo Martín Abanto Guzmán Fathered child in 2011. Resigned July 2013, age 49, per canon 401.2, after child's mother took him to court, demanding he recognize paternity. Peru Military bishop emeritus.
Bishop Gabino Miranda Melgarejo Removed as Ayachucho o Huamanga auxiliary bishop May 2013, age 53, after accused of molesting children he is said to have targeted during confession. Laicized July 2013.
PHILIPPINES Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani, Jr. Resigned 2003, age 63, per canon 401.2, after accused by secretary of sexual misconduct. Apologized. Novaliches bishop emeritus.
Bishop Filomeno Gonzales Bactol Accused 2007 of molesting boys by ex-missionary who himself faced deportation for alleged pedophilia in 1990s. Naval bishop.
Bishop Crisostomo A. Yalung Resigned 2002, age 49, per canon 401.2, after news he had fathered a child. Antipolo bishop emeritus.
POLAND Archbishop Juliusz Paetz Resigned 2002, age 67, after accused of sexually abusing young seminarians. Paetz denied the allegations. Banned from public ministry, but ban lifted by Vatican June 2010. Ban was at some point reinstated: in April 2016, Vatican warned Paetz to stop public appearances and resume private life of "repentance and prayer." Poznan archbishop emeritus.
Archbishop Józef Wesołowski *
Polish. Resigned as papal nuncio to Dominican Republic August 2013 and was secretly recalled to Vatican, just days before DR news media exposed his alleged sex assaults of children on Santo Domingo waterfront. Church officials did not inform DR law enforcement. Prosecution sought by both DR and Poland. Vatican reportedly rebuffed extradition request by Poland January 2014. Laicization announced June 2014, four days after DR bishop tweeted about seeing Wesołowski strolling in Rome. Diplomatic immunity removed August 2014, day after NY Times exposé. Put under house arrest in Vatican City State September 2014. Found with 100,000+ child abuse images on his laptop and Vatican-owned computer. Released from house arrest after 60 days; free to move around Vatican City State beginning late November 2014. Hospitalized night before his July 2015 trial in VCS, causing trial to be indefinitely postponed. Released from hospital one week later, and freed to walk around Vatican City, according to BBC. Found dead in his Vatican apartment August 28, 2015. Trial never resumed.
PORTUGAL
Bishop Carlos Alberto de Pinho Moreira Azevedo Accused 2010 of 1980s sexual abuse of seminarian. Appointed Official of Pontifical Council for Culture 2011.
PUERTO RICO
Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres
Accused February 2014 of lewd acts against a male minor shortly before becoming bishop in 2010, when an Arecibo parish priest. Bishop of Arecibo. Denied charges, said were "act of revenge." Diocese under scrutiny for mishandling of sex abuse cases. Archbishop Roberto González called the allegations "slander." Charges dismissed by Vatican April 2014. Accuser's attorney said client wasn't interviewed by Vatican. Info about Fernández Torres' alleged abuse reportedly withheld from Vatican by PR apostolic delegate Jozef Wesołowski.
SCOTLAND
Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien Resigned as archbishop February 2013, age 74, after accused publicly of sexual advances toward priests, dating to 1980s. [See also church announcement.] Issued partial admission and apology [1,2]. Remained Saint Andrews and Edinburgh archbishop emeritus. Following 2014 investigation of allegations by Bishop Charles Scicluna, Pope Francis in March 2015 accepted O'Brien's resignation of his "rights and privileges" as a Cardinal. He was allowed to retain the title, however. Died March 19, 2018.
Bishop Roderick Wright Resigned 1996, age 56, after admitting to sex with woman he counseled. Married the woman. Admitted to son with previous woman. Remained Argyll and The Isles bishop emeritus. Died 2005.
SOUTH AFRICA
Bishop Reginald Joseph Orsmond
Johannesburg bishop 1984-2002. Founded South Africa's Boys Town 1958; there until named bishop 1984. Died 2002. Accused in former Boys Town resident's 2007 memoir of of rape and molestation over a three-year period, beginning when the author was age 13 in the 1960s. Orsmond is said to have plied the boy with alcohol. Several other men also alleged sexual abuse as boys in the facility by Orsmond; an ex-staffer said it was an "open secret" that Orsmond had boys sleep in his room. Archdiocesan "professional conduct committee" deemed the allegations credible.
SWITZERLAND
Bishop Hansjörg Vogel Resigned 1995, age 44, after acknowledging impregnating woman. Basel {Bâle, Basilea} bishop emeritus.
UNITED STATES
Bishop Juan A. Arzube
Accused 2003 of sexual abuse of 11-year-old boy 1975-76. Remained Los Angeles CA auxiliary bishop emeritus. Died 2007.
Bishop Michael J. Bransfield
Implicated April 2012 by victim of ex-priest Stanley Gana during Philadelphia trial testimony. Separate allegation of 1970s fondling of high school student, reportedly a minor, revealed by prosecutor. Bransfield denied all abuse. [See his statement.] Never charged. Resigned as Wheeling-Charleston WV bishop September 13, 2018 after Pope Francis ordered an investigation into allegations that Bransfield sexually harassed adults. As of November 2018, church hotline had received complaints of bishop's alleged misconduct occurring in WV, PA and Washington DC.
Bishop Robert H. Brom Accused in 1990s of coercing young seminarian into sex in 1980s, while Duluth MN bishop. Accuser retracted allegation, reportedly as condition of $85K settlement. Retired 2013, age 75. San Diego CA bishop emeritus.
Bishop Tod D. Brown
News in 2007 of 1997 letter to church alleging Brown's sexual abuse of boy, age 12, in 1965. Church had deemed it not credible. Brown denied abuse. Never charged. Neither he nor victim interviewed by police. Retired 2012, age 75. Orange in California bishop emeritus.
Bishop Leonard P. Cowley
St. Paul MN auxiliary bishop 1958-1973. Died 1973. Name released February 2015 as one of 17 archdiocesan clergy accused of sexual abuse or misconduct with a minor. A man filed a claim that Cowley sexually abused him at age 15 during trip to northern Minnesota in 1968.
Bishop Harold J. Dimmerling
Rapid City SD bishop 1969-1987. Died 1987 at age 73 while in office. "Credible" allegation of child sexual abuse by Dimmerling revealed November 2018 by St. Cloud MN bishop Donald Kettler. Alleged abuse occurred sometime during Dimmerling's years as a St. Cloud diocesan priest (1940-1969).
Bishop Carroll T. Dozier
First bishop of Memphis diocese, 1971-1982. Died 1985 at age 74. News coverage of his enabling of abusers in 2010. In February 2019, the Richmond VA diocese, where Dozier was a priest 1937-1970, included him on its newly released list of clergy with credible and substantiated allegations of abuse of minors. It noted that an allegation against Dozier was reported after his death.
Bishop Paul V. Dudley
Retired 1995, age 68, as Sioux Falls SD bishop. Accused 2002 of fondling altar boy age 11 or 12 in 1950s. Accused also by two women. "Cleared" by church 2003. Remained emeritus. Died 2006.
Bishop Thomas L. Dupre Accused 2004 of sexual abuse of two youths more than 20 years previously. Resigned age 70, per canon 401.2, same day that news broke. Sent to treatment. Indicted but not tried, due to SOL. Remained Springfield MA bishop emeritus. Died December 20, 2016.
Bishop Joseph A. Ferrario Honolulu HI auxiliary bishop and bishop 1977-1993. Accused of child rape in 1985 letter to papal nuncio. Lawsuit 1991 dismissed on SOL grounds. Retired as bishop 1993, age 67. Stayed in ministry and remained emeritus. Not charged. Died 2003. Named by more alleged victims 2013 and 2014.
Bishop Louis E. Gelineau Resigned 1997, age 69, after accused of attempting to fondle then drown boy at Vermont orphanage in 1950. In 1997 deposition, denied 1993 sexual abuse of altar boy. Remains Providence RI bishop emeritus.
Bishop Timothy J. Harrington Worcester MA bishop 1983-1994. Died 1997. Accused 2005 of sexual abuse of boy from ages 11 to 15 in the 1950s.
Bishop Joseph H. Hart
Resigned as Cheyenne bishop 2001, age 70, per canon 401.2. In 2002, KC newspaper revealed Hart was reported to the KC-St.Joseph diocese in 1989 and 1992 for child molestation in the 1970s, when Hart was a KC priest 1956-1976. Hart was not charged. In July 2018, Cheyenne diocese announced it had re-opened investigation of alleged sexual abuse of minors by Hart when he was Cheyenne bishop (1976-2001). Bishop Biegler said 2002 criminal investigation in WY had been “flawed.” The KC-St. Joseph diocese then acknowledged its abuse settlements in 2008 and 2014 had included 10 KC victims of Hart. In August 2018, Cheyenne police re-opened investigation and Cheyenne diocese said it had heard from a third credible WY victim. Prosecution is possible: Wyoming has no statutes of limitations for child sex crimes. Hart remains Cheyenne WY bishop emeritus.
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard Accused February 2004 of paying teen for sex in 1970s and sexual misconduct with adult males. Hubbard denied allegations, saying he had not violated celibacy. Not charged. Hired own investigator who reported June 2004 "no credible evidence." Retired 2014, age 75. Albany NY bishop emeritus.
Bishop John J. Jenik
Auxiliary bishop of New York archdiocese since 2014. On October 29, 2018, Cardinal Dolan announced that archdiocese had found allegation that Jenik had sexually abused a minor in the 1980s "credible and substantiated." Victim described inappropriate relationship beginning in his early teens. Jenik denied the abuse. Removed from public ministry pending a Vatican review.
Bishop Robert N. Lynch
Denied 2001 accusation of sexual harassment by diocesan communications director. Church paid accuser $100K; bishop said it was severance, not hush money. Accuser's lawyer said there was "unwanted touching" but no "overt sexual actions."Retired age 76 in 2016 as St. Petersburg FL bishop.
Bishop Eugene A. Marino, S.S.J.
Resigned 1990, age 56, as Atlanta GA archbishop. Woman, age 27, soon went public regarding two-year sexual relationship with Marino, which he acknowledged. Remained archbishop emeritus. Died 2000.
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick
In the early 2000s, scholar Richard Sipe and others wrote publicly about McCarrick's sexual misconduct with adult seminarians and priests, but the story was not reported in the mainstream press. Allegation of abuse of a minor, made through the IRCP process, was announced by Cardinal Dolan in June 2018. McCarrick denied the allegation. The Metuchen diocese and the Newark archdiocese publicly acknowledged three settlements in 2005 and 2007 with two former seminarians. In July 2018, Pope Francis removed McCarrick from the College of Cardinals and ordered him to live a life of prayer and penance while an investigation proceeded. One of McCarrick's adult victims chose to come forward, and the allegations broke in the media. Another man abused as a minor came forward. In August 2018, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò released his "testimony" alleging that a network in the hierarchy, including Pope Francis, had knowledge of McCarrick's abuse of seminarians but took no action. Viganò also claimed that Pope Benedict had ordered McCarrick to live a life of prayer and penance, and that Pope Francis reinstated McCarrick. Vatican announced new investigation October 2018. On December 27, 2019, James Grein testified in the Vatican investigation that McCarrick had abused him as a boy during confession. News in January 2019 of third victim alleging child sex abuse by McCarrick, also in the NY archdiocese. CDF Congresso issued a laicization decree on January 11, 2019, finding McCarrick guilty of "solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power." McCarrick appealed, but the Ordinary Session of the CDF confirmed the decree on February 13, 2019. Sentence was rendered res iudicata – it cannot be appealed.
Bishop James Francis McCarthy
Resigned 2002, age 59, after admitting to sexual involvement with adult women. Remains New York NY auxiliary bishop emeritus.
Bishop John R. McGann
Rockville Centre bishop 1976-2000. Died 2002. Accused in 2/19 of having sexually abused, along with two other priests, two girls when he was a monsignor at a Rockville Centre parish in the 1960s and 1970s. Both alleged victims said that in once incident, when they were 11 in 1967, they were fondled while passed around the laps of priests, including McGann, at a Christmas party in the rectory.
Cardinal Humberto S. Medeiros
Boston MA archbishop 1970-83. Died 1983. Accused 2002 of sexually abusing 14-year-old boy in 1979. Accuser said Medeiros touched his groin while giving him a "bear hug" in the archdiocesan chancery, where he was allegedly molested the same evening by vice-chancellor Rev. Fred Ryan.
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt
Stepped aside December 2013 after allegation of inappropriately touching boy's buttocks in 2009. Called allegation "entirely false." Resumed duties March 2014 after prosecutor announced no charges due to insufficient evidence. Internal investigation of alleged misconduct toward adults revealed July 2014. It reportedly found Nienstedt made "sexual advances" toward two priests. Nienstedt kept findings secret and, according to MPR report , authorized new investigation by second law firm. Resigned June 2015, per 401.2, soon after archdiocese was charged criminally for contributing to child sex abuse. December 2018 public letter by Archbishop Hebda, Nienstedt's successor, revealed additional allegation: as New Ulm bishop in 2005, Nienstedt allegedly invited two minors to his hotel room in Germany, undressed in front of them, and invited them to do the same. [See redacted account in prosecutor's affidavit, pp. 56-57.] Although Nienstedt denied incident, Hebda barred him from public ministry in Twin Cities. Nienstedt remains Saint Paul and Minneapolis MN archbishop emeritus.
Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien
Admitted in June 2003 to covering up child sexual abuse in his diocese. Arrested days later on charges related to a fatal hit-and-run auto accident, triggering his resignation at age 67. Convicted in that case and sentenced to probation and community service. Accused in a 2017 lawsuit of repeated sexual abuse of a boy in Arizona when the boy was in 2nd to 5th grades during 1977-1982. O'Brien denied the allegations.Remained Phoenix AZ bishop emeritus until he died in August 2018.
Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell
Admitted 2002 to 1970s sexual abuse of Missouri high school seminary student. Resigned immediately as Palm Beach FL bishop per canon 401.2, age 63. Numerous former students alleged abuse. Not charged. Remained bishop emeritus. Died 2012.
Bishop James S. Rausch
Phoenix AZ bishop 1977-1981. Died 1981. Accused in 2002 lawsuit of 1979 sexual abuse of 17-year-old boy.
Bishop George E. Rueger
Accused in 2002 lawsuit of 1960s sexual abuse of boy age 13-14. Denied allegation. Not charged. Alleged victim withdrew suit 2003. Retired age 75 in 2005. Worcester MA auxiliary bishop emeritus.
Bishop Daniel L. Ryan
Resigned 1999, age 69, week before lawsuit cited his hiring of male prostitutes. News 2002 that he solicited sex from boy, age 15, and sexually abused another, age 16-17. Not charged, due to SOL. Internal diocesan study 2006 confirmed Ryan's misconduct with adults. Remained Springfield IL bishop emeritus until he died in 2015.
Bishop Alexander Salazar
Appointed auxiliary bishop Los Angeles 2004. Alleged 'misconduct with minor' first made public December 2018, after Vatican announced Pope had accepted Salazar's resignation. However, archdiocese had known of allegation at least since 2005, according to 12/19/2018 public letter by Archbishop Gomez. Incident(s) occurred in 1990s, when Salazar was a parish priest. In letter, Gomez said he had reported case to CDF, which "imposed certain precautionary measures." Yet the public record shows Salazar in seemingly unrestricted bishop mode for years after archdiocese knew of allegation. See examples of his public appearances in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 (1, 2), and 2017. Archbishop said review board found allegation "credible." Salazar denies wrongdoing.
Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez
Resigned 1993, age 59, after accused of sexual contact with at least 5 women; some were ages 18 and 19. Stayed in ministry. Remained Santa Fe NM archbishop emeritus. Died 2012.
Bishop William S. Skylstad
Accused 2005 of 1961-64 sexual abuse of girl under age 18. Skylstad denied the accusation, and investigator hired by him found no truth in the claim. Retired 2010, age 76. Spokane WA bishop emeritus.
Bishop Lawrence D. Soens
Resigned 1998, age 72. Accused publicly 2000s of ‘sadistic’ sexual abuse of 31 teen boys beginning late 1950s. Found guilty by 2008 review board. Not charged. Remains Sioux City IA bishop emeritus.
Cardinal Francis Joseph Spellman
New York NY archbishop 1939-1967. Accused in a February 2019 article of having groped a West Point cadet repeatedly during an interview for the school's magazine in 1967, in the presence of a monsignor and two other cadets. The monsignor allegedly was standing behind Spellman, and each time the Cardinal slid his hand up the cadet's thigh toward his crotch, the monsignor would stop the Cardinal by grabbing his wrist and whispering such things as, "Now, now, eminence." Spellman's accuser said that each time he was groped, then stopped, Spellman would take from a drawer a tie clasp, key chain, or gold-plated tie tack, which he would then give him. His accuser also said he learned later from other priests that Spellman's nickname was "Mary." Spellman died in December 1967.
Bishop James S. Sullivan
Resigned citing Alzheimer's, March 2002, per canon 401.2. Age 72. Accused June 2002 of 1966 fondling of boy, age 16, in Michigan. Denied accusation. Charges not pursued due to SOL. Remained Fargo ND bishop emeritus. Died 2006.
Bishop Joseph V. Sullivan
Baton Rouge LA bishop 1974-1982. Died 1982. Accused in 2000s of sexual abuse of three different teen boys, 1969-1982. Later bishop called claims credible, removed Sullivan's name from high school.
Bishop Joseph Keith Symons
Admitted 1995 to past sexual abuse of boy. Stayed in ministry. Remained Palm Beach FL bishop. Resigned 1998, age 65, after another victim emerged. Admitted to abuse of 5 boys. Not charged. Found in ministry 1999 in Lansing MI diocese. Bishop emeritus.
Archbishop Rembert George Weakland, O.S.B.
Resigned in 2002 immediately after news of $450K payment in 1998 to silence man accusing him of sexual assault when man was 32. Weakland had just turned 75, and resignation was accepted per canon 401.1 -- the age-75 rule applying to bishops in standard situations. Weakland denied abuse but admitted to sexual relationship. Remains Milwaukee WI archbishop emeritus, residing in PA monastery.
Bishop Christopher J. Weldon
Springfeld MA bishop 1950-1977. Died 1982. Accused 2005 of 1950s sexual abuse of boy, from ages 10 to 16.
Bishop Lawrence Harold Welsh
News in 2002 of police investigation 1986 alleging he had choked male prostitute during sex. Welsh admitted to most of accusation, except "amount of violence." No charges filed. Resigned as Spokane bishop 1990 after drunk driving arrest. Made Saint Paul and Minneapolis auxiliary bishop 1991. Died 1999.
Bishop James Kendrick Williams
Resigned age 65 in 2002, per canon 401.2, after accused of sexual abuse of two boys, 1969 and 1981, and young adult late 1980s. Denied abusing anyone. Lexington KY bishop emeritus.
Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann
Forced to resign 1999 at age 57 after allegation by younger priest of coercing sex. Accused early 2000s of sexual abuse of 3 different boys in 1960s and '70s. Remained Santa Rosa CA bishop emeritus. Died 2009.
URUGUAY
Bishop Francisco Domingo Barbosa Da Silveira
Resigned age 65 in 2009, per canon 401.2, after he filed extortion complaint revealing homosexual relations between him and two men. Remained Minas bishop emeritus. Died 2015.
WALES
Archbishop John Aloysius Ward, O.F.M. Cap.
Arrested 1999 for alleged assault of girl, age 7, 1960-61. Not charged. Said he was falsely accused. Resigned 2001 at age 72, per canon 401.2, after outcry at his mishandling of two abusive priests. Remained Cardiff archbishop emeritus. Died 2007.
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* assigned in more than one country during his career
Note: Inclusion in this list does not imply that individuals facing allegations are guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims. The reports contained in this list are merely allegations. The U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements.
We have excluded from the list the following allegations against bishops in the United States which were subsequently recanted or demonstrated to be incorrect: two allegations in 1992 against Bishop Gerald F. O'Keefe 1 2 (Davenport, Iowa); two allegations in 2002 against Cardinal Roger M. Mahony 3 4 5 (Los Angeles, California); and an allegation in 2002 against Cardinal Edward M. Egan 6 (New York, New York).
This page was last updated March 12, 2019.