The sin of sexual abuse is an offense before God that causes emotional, spiritual, and physical trauma to the victim. In a spirit of transparency and accountability, for the care of souls, and to assist survivors of child sexual abuse, we have chosen to disclose to our people a list of all priests, deacons, and religious who have had a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor while serving in our diocese.
The decision to release this list was reached in order to further live up to our commitment to provide a safe environment for young people in all church activities within the Diocese of San Angelo. We know that the scourge of sexual abuse within the Church has caused pain, mistrust, and feelings of betrayal. We pledge to remain resolute in protecting the most vulnerable among us by continuing to remove offenders from ministry whenever we become aware of credible allegations.
By far, the majority of our priests and deacons have served with honor, dignity, and virtue. While trust has been compromised by the serious misconduct of a few, I publicly affirm the goodness and the fidelity of the many.
On behalf of the entire Church, I express my deep sorrow and repentance for any sins and harm that has been caused by any form of abuse by the Church’s ministers. I also apologize to all people for whom this scandal has led to disillusionment, discouragement or desolation, even if they have not had direct experience of the abuse.
I pledge my personal acts of prayer and fasting in response to the sins that have been committed by ministers of the Church, and I am very grateful to anyone who offers prayers and sacrifices for healing and reparation. To all victims and your families, I am deeply sorry for the pain, betrayal, and suffering you have experienced.
I make this report praying that those who are suffering from sexual abuse by a minister of the Church will be able to hear this as a sincere apology. Reading this report will possibly be painful. Those who choose to read this report after being sexually abused by a minister of the Church may find wounds opened and need additional counseling or therapeutic support. We want to help you through our Victim Assistance Coordinator.
Our Church and our entire society are currently going through a time of necessary purification and conversion for the sin of sexual abuse and the way it has been handled by those in authority. May God grant us wisdom, fortitude, vigilance, and perseverance to attain the highest standards of behavior in all our churches, schools, and institutions.
Please pray for the healing of all victims of the sin of sexual abuse.
How we work to keep children safe
In 2002, the Catholic Bishops of the United States established the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. That policy applies to every diocese in the country, including San Angelo. Through the implementation of the Charter and our diocesan policy of Ethics and Integrity in Ministry, we must work diligently to provide the safest environment possible for children and youth in our various church programs.
This is carried out through several practices, including background checks and mandatory training for all church workers and volunteers dealing with children and adolescents, the use of a Victim Assistance Coordinator to assist victims who report sexual abuse by church personnel, annual audits of parish safe environment programs, and annual audits of the diocesan safe environment program by an independent agency. We will continue to review and fine-tune our procedures, practices, and standards.
Civil law requires that suspicions of child abuse be reported to civil authorities. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services provides two options for doing so: a secure website, https://www.txabusehotline.org; and a telephone hotline, 1-800-252-5400. If any person is in immediate danger, call 911.
We continue to encourage anyone who has been sexually abused by church personnel to report it to public law enforcement authorities and to our Diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator, Lori Hines, by phone at (325) 374-7609 or email at lhines@sanangelodiocese.org.
How this list was developed
This list has been created after a thorough review of all our clergy personnel files since the establishment of the diocese in 1961. The review was carried out by a qualified independent professional and in consultation with the Diocesan Review Board. This board is a consultative body of laypersons with professional expertise in a variety of professions such as psychology, medicine, education, justice, and social work.
The appearance of a name on our list does not in and of itself constitute an assertion of certainty that guilt has been conclusively determined. In our list, a “credible allegation” means that, after review of reasonably available, relevant information, there is reason to believe it is true. For the purposes of this report, the type of conduct understood to be “sexual abuse of a minor” is defined in the following chapters of the Texas Penal Code:
Chapter 20A: Human trafficking offenses
Chapter 21: Abuse of a Child, Public Lewdness, Indecent Exposure, Bestiality, Indecency with a Child, Improper Relationship between Educator and Child, Invasive Visual Recording, Unlawful Disclosure or Promotion of Intimate Visual Material, and Voyeurism
Chapter 22: Sexual Assault, Aggravated Sexual Assault
Chapter 43: Obscene Display or Distribution, Obscenity, Sale, Distribution, or Display of Harmful Material to a Minor, Sexual Performance by a Child, Employment Harmful to Children, Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography, Electronic Transmission of Certain Visual Material Depicting Minor, and Possession or Promotion of Lewd Visual Material Depicting Child
Scope
This list covers allegations of abuse that occurred within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of San Angelo at the time the abuse was alleged to have occurred. It does not include a person solely on the basis of an allegation of sexual abuse that took place while serving in another diocese.
Our online list will be a continual work in progress. It will be updated over time as needed.