Category:New Mexico Dioceses
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New Mexico Dioceses General
Archdiocese of Santa Fe
Archdiocese of Santa Fe In New Mexico, Archbishop Michael Sheehan removed 20 priests from the ministry for sexual abuse, some whose cases went back 20 to 30 years. Nineteen were removed by a local administrative process and one by a more formal judicial process, 1990s. Two priests were removed from parish duties, one based on old complaints and a second as a precaution even though allegations were unsubstantiated from a third-person source, April 2002. In a legal deposition Archbishop Robert Sanchez testified that he knew 27 priests who were sexually active during his tenure.
- Ground zero of priest pedophilia New Mexico, thanks to the reassignment there of many pedophile priests once sent to recover at the Servants of the Paraclete sanitarium northwest of Albuquerque.
- Santa Fe lawsuits Beginning in the 1960s, New Mexico's parishes served as a national dumping ground for pedophile priests. After doing time in a rural rehab center geared toward alcoholics, they slipped into sunbaked, Hispanic hamlets and set about their unholy work, some priests were known to have abused hundreds of children. Lawsuits began to be filed August 1991, until 187 were filed against dozens of priests. Estimated $25 million in settlements was paid out by the archdiocese and its insurers, nearly bankrupting the archdiocese by 1995. Archdiocese paid up to $50 million in settlements 1994-97.
- Padrecito (Sp) Affectionate name for priests by Hispanics in southwest US, reflecting their unquestioning faith.
(alphabetical listing)
[27+ offenders identified, 25 listed]
Abdon affair Rev. Andrew Abdon accused of abuse, settled 1996.
Archuleta affair Rev. Marvin Archuleta accused of sexual abuse, settled 1996.
Baca affair Rev. Paul Baca accused of abuse, settled 2000. Denied allegations.
Congro affair Rev. Basil Peter Congro took administrative leave in fall 2002 when a plaintiff claims the priest abused him when Congro was priest at St. Mary's Catholic Church in East Islip, NY, in the 1980s, civil suit filed 14 April 2003. Congro moved to South Carolina in the early 1990s, serving as pastor of St. Patrick and Our Lady of Mercy in Charleston, St. Mary on Yonges Island, Saints Frederick and Stephen on Edisto Island, St. Anthony in Florence, and most recently priest at Jesus, Our Risen Savior Catholic Church in Spartanburg.
Courcy affair Rev. Leo Courcy accused of abuse, sued 1994.
Donelan affair Rev. Edward Donelan (deceased) accused of abuse, was sued 1995.
Donnolla affair Rev. Ed Donnolla who operated a juvenile detention center, the Hacienda De Los Muchachos in Farley, New Mexico, where it was alleged he sexually abused inmates. Center closed by the archbishop, 1976.
Esquivel affair Rev. John Esquivel fathered a child but remained a parish priest paying child support.
Gallegos affair Rev. Joseph Anthony Gallegos (deceased) was accused of abuse, sued 1994.
Griego affair Rev. Sabine Griego alleged sexual abuser who the archbishop moved from Our Lady of Sorrows in Las Vegas, NM. to Queen of Heaven in Albuquerque because of allegations, finally removed September 1991. Settled for $1.5 million 1998.
Howell affair Archbishop has said he sent the Rev. Rodney Howell (d. 1993) into treatment for alcoholism in 1986 after a family alleged that the priest had molested two of their children while drunk. “I think it was true,” the archbishop has said. He returned Father Howell to duty, and the priest worked until he died of cancer in 1993. Parishioners have said Howell was sometimes assisted in celebrating Mass by his brother Gerald “Jerry” Howell - even though he had been suspended from the priesthood in New Orleans after a church tribunal investigated molestation allegations against him (Howell affair in Archdiocese of New Orleans). Archbishop Michael Sheehan said he first learned of those allegations when a New Orleans television station reported in 1992 that several people had accused Howell of abuse in the 1970s.
Iazzetti case Santa Fe Catholic High Principal Anthony Michael Iazzetti (1944-), a Marist Brother, was charged with soliciting two male undercover detectives to commit a lewd act on each other, 5 August 2005.
Kirsch affair Rev. Robert Kirsch admitted under oath to rape of 15 year-old girl.
Lipinski case Rev. Vincent Lipinski was convicted of abuse of 14 year-old boy, 1996.
Lynn affair Rev. Clive Lynn accused of abuse settled 1990. Removed 1985.
Malloy case Rev. Robert Malloy, police chaplain, was convicted tampering evidence, alleged abuse, sentenced to 5 years probation.
Martinez affair I Rev. Armando Martinez (d. 1997, Servants of Paraclete, accused of abuse, removed 1993. Murdered 1997.
Martinez affair II Rev. Louis Martinez accused of sexual abuse, settled 1996.
Martinez affair III Rev. Roger Martinez fathered a child but remained a parish priest paying child support.
Peris affair Rev. John Peris (deceased) accused of abuse, sued 1995.
Perrault affair Rev. Arthur Perrault alleged abuse of 6 children.
Sanchez affair Archbishop Robert Sanchez of Santa Fe resigned over his involvement with several women, some teenagers, April 1993.
Sierra affair Rev. Frank Sierra accused of sexual abuse, settled 1996.
Silva case Rev. George Silva (1932-) Raton priest accused of sexual misconduct with a minor has been sentenced to five years in prison and five years of supervised probation, 26 September 2006. Silva reached an agreement with prosecutors in June 2006 in which he pleaded guilty to one count of transporting a 14-year-old boy from New Mexico to France and Portugal for illicit sexual activity in 2005. Silva avoided a trial and a possible sentence of up to 30 years.
Smith affair Rev. Robert Smith (Bob) (d. 1987) accused of sexual abuse c. 1986, the archbishop removed him from his parish and sent him for treatment. He never returned to parish work after that.
Diocese of Gallup
Diocese of Gallup New Mexico diocese that oversees northeastern Arizona. The first priests to serve in what is now the Diocese of Gallup were Franciscans, and the diocese still has many Franciscan priests and brothers serving here, notably on Indian reservations and in Gallup's St. Francis of Assisi Parish.
Diocese of Gallup abuse Pelotte issued a statement to all Gallup parishes saying that between 1950 and 2003, eight known individuals from the diocese had credible accusations of sexual abuse, there were 11 known victims, and the diocese had paid $190,000 in settlements to victims, 30 November 2003. Number of allegations against Franciscans who once served in the Diocese of Gallup have been made.
SNAP list Joseph Baca of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests met with Bishop Donald E. Pelotte of the Diocese of Gallup and presented a list of 18 names of priests who had been associated with the diocese and were thought by SNAP to be possible abusers, May 2005.
The Voice of the Southwest report Official diocesan newspaper listed ten of those names as men with credible clergy abuse allegations. Nothing was said about the omitted names. One of the omitted names was of a priest who had been publicly identified by the diocese as an abuser and whose alleged victim was paid a substantial settlement in the 1990s. Reported June 2005.
Diocese of Gallup list Diocese of Gallup published an updated list of priests associated with the diocese who have credible allegations of clergy sexual abuse; however, the updated list omits two names of men who have been publicly identified in the past as abusers Other than James Schlaffer, this list does not include the names of anyone alleged to have sexually abused, assaulted, or harassed only adult victims. Just as its name indicates, the Gallup Diocesan Review Board for Juvenile Sexual Abuse does not have the authority to address allegations involving adult victims. It is not known why Rev. Douglas McNeill's name (McNeill affair) was not included in the diocese's list. August 2005.
- See also Mesley affair
- See also Murphy affair
- See also Schlaffer affair
Donald Pelotte Bishop Donald E. Pelotte Pelotte left a diocese that is in far worse shape than when he took it over two decades earlier. In that time, he covered-up child abuse, alienated many priests in the diocese and did nothing as the number of priests declined and parishes had to be shut down.
- Bishop beaten up Two top officials of the Gallup Catholic Diocese have been involved in a sustained and deliberate program of lies and intimidation to convince members of the Diocese of Gallup that the injuries Bishop Donald Pelotte received before the afternoon of 23 July 2007, came as a result of a fall down carpeted stairs at his home. The police photos from that day show that the statements made by Deacon Timoteo Lujan, chancellor for the Diocese, and The Rev. James Walker, the Diocese’s vicar general, were lies and were part of a cover-up by Diocesian officials to keep the truth from coming out that Pelotte was the victim of a savage attack. George Kozeliski, a loyal member of the Church and a friend of the bishop, was the city attorney and had the power to keep the photos from being released to the press: he became part of the cover-up.
Diocesan Case List
(alphabetical listing)
[18 offenders identified, 15 listed]
Allison affair Rev. William C. Allison (deceased) The Diocese of Gallup has said there was one credible allegation against Allison.
Aten affair Rev. Michael Aten (deceased) was publicly identified by the Gallup Diocesan Review Board for Juvenile Sexual Abuse in 16 May 2003. The diocese received more than one credible allegation against Aten.
Burns case Rev. James M. Burns (1933-), priest at St. Joseph's in Winslow, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor in Winslow in 1983 and 1984, was sentenced as part of a plea agreement, to a year and a half in prison in New Mexico, September 2004. Burns may have victimized more than a dozen children.
- Candelaria accusation Criss Candelaria claimed he was sexually victimized by James Burns, a former priest of the Diocese of Gallup. Candelaria, the County Attorney in Apache County, Ariz., submitted a statement to the Navajo County Superior Court about his own alleged abuse during the September 2004 sentencing hearing for Burns.
Casimano affair Rev. Santino A. Casimano (Tony Casimano), ordained in the Diocese of Gallup in August 1975, served in various parishes and missions and served there before moving to California and commissioned as a Navy chaplain in March 1980. He became interim principal at St. Bernard High School in Montville, Diocese of Norwich, resigned after two brothers accused him of sexually abusing them when they were minors in New Mexico in 1978, January 2004. While in California, but still a Gallup priest, Casimano allegedly abused at least two boys. The Diocese of Orange settled those two clergy abuse lawsuits 2005.
Cichanowicz affair Rev. Charles Cichanowicz (Chuck), Franciscan priest, who served from 1987 to 1990 at St. Boniface Church and from 1990 to 1991 at St. Lawrence Church, was sued in a civil lawsuit, filed 6 November 2007 in Navajo Nation District Court in Shiprock, by a Navajo man who claims a Catholic priest gave him alcohol and sexually abused him as a teenager in 1984 and 1985 at Christ the King parish in Shiprock, Diocese of Gallup, NM. He names the priest and the Diocese of Gallup as defendants. Cichanowicz left the Franciscan order in 1991 and received his official papers from Rome to officially be laicized in 1994.
Hageman affair Rev. Clement A. Hageman (deceased) was identified by the Diocese of Gallup as having more than one credible allegation made against him.
- Baca accusation Joseph Baca, director of Northern Arizona and Western New Mexico SNAP, of Phoenix, Ariz., says he was sexually abused in the early 1970s in the Diocese of Gallup by Hageman, who was then assigned to a parish in Winslow, Ariz. Baca has received a settlement from the Diocese of Gallup.
Hartig affair Rev. Julian Hartig (deceased) Diocese of Gallup and Albuquerque's Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe have both confirmed there was one credible allegation against Hartig.
- See also MacArthur affair
McNeill affair Rev. Douglas McNeill was identified by the review board in its press release and later by diocese official Deacon Timoteo Lujan, the chancellor of the diocese that Saint Bonaventure School in Thoreau, NM, paid a $135,000 settlement to McNeill's victim.
Maikowski affair Rev. Thomas Maikowski, director of the Diocese of Gallup’s Department of Education, resigned the post and also has resigned as a diocesan consultor and as principal of St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School. His decision came a few weeks after police filed an attempted murder charge against a Gallup man, Derek Kolb, a young man who had a close association with Maikowski, “a jealous male roommate,” who admitted trying to poison a 81-year-old Carmelite nun, Sister Margaret Mary Liebst, under the care of Maikowski to get more attention from the priest. “It is my judgment that for the benefit of all, including myself, that I should resign these positions in diocesan administration,” said Maikowski in his 11 November 2004 letter of resignation, which was accepted by Gallup Bishop Donald E. Pelotte. Deacon Timoteo Lujan, diocesan chancellor, said Father Maikowski will continue to have all his priestly faculties and will continue his ministry to women religious in the diocese.
- See also Murphy affair
Pelotte affair Bishop Donald E. Pelotte has been granted a one-year medical leave of absence after he had been found severely injured in his Gallup home on 23 July 2007. The Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted, bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, has been appointed apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Gallup by Pope Benedict XVI.
Note Pelotte had another home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Rodriguez affair Rev. Jose Rodriguez was publicly identified by the Gallup Diocesan Review Board for Juvenile Sexual Abuse in 16 May 2003. More than one credible allegation has been made against Rodriguez.
Schlaffer affair Rev. James Schlaffer was accused by a Navajo woman of being abused by Schlaffer in July 1974 while she was a patient at the Gallup Indian Medical Center. Schlaffer, a priest from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, served as a hospital chaplain here from June 1974 to May 1975. When contacted, the Milwaukee Archdiocese confirmed there had been other allegations against Schlaffer involving unwanted sexual advances to adult women. Perhaps because the victim was 18 years old at the time of the alleged incident, the Diocese of Gallup did not include Schlaffer in this list.
Sullivan affair Rev. John T. Sullivan (deceased), a notorious abuser who victimized many girls and young women in numerous dioceses around the US. He served in the Diocese of Gallup for eight years before transferring to the Diocese of Phoenix. The Diocese of Gallup has said that no victim has come forward from the diocese.
Diocese of Las Cruces
Diocese of Las Cruces Situated in the northern region of the Chihuahuan desert and the southern heights of the Rocky Mountains. Bishop Ricardo Ramirez (1936-) appointed 6 December 1981. Diocese established in October 1982.
Diocese of Las Cruces abuse One priest had been accused of sexual abuse up to January 2003.
(alphabetical listing)
[1 offender identified, 1 listed]
Anon priest Bishop Ricardo Ramirez sent a priest back to New York, where he had been accused of abusing minors, 2002.
