Catholic Diocese of Sacramento releases list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse

Sacramento, California -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento released the names of 46 priests and deacons who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse over the past seven decades.

The clergy named in the list have been credibly accused of sexually abusing 130 minors or young adults, aged 25 and under, the diocese said in a news release. The list is based on the personnel records of nearly 1,500 bishops, priests and deacons from 1950 to the present.

“This list is heartbreaking. It is a sickening and sobering account of the history of sex abuse by clergy in our diocese,” Bishop Jaime Soto said in a news release. “It is repulsive to see the evil acts that were perpetrated upon innocent children and young people entrusted to our care."

The list was posted at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday on the diocese’s website. 

"We believe really strongly, and the bishop here believes really strongly, that if we’re going to recover the trust of the people, the trust of Catholics and the public, that begins with the accounting of what happened in the past," diocese spokesperson Kevin Eckery said. "By having this accounting, by seeing, frankly, what was a catalogue of evil and failure and pain, that it’s always going to stay with us and we’re always going to be, you know, on target watching for this, to make sure it never happens again.”

The list was originally supposed to be released last fall, but it was pushed back to March after the diocese hired an outside consultant to go through the personnel files. The diocese then announced on Sunday that the list would be released this week.

The Diocese of Sacramento serves 1.3 million Catholics across 20 counties and is one of 12 dioceses in California.

Other dioceses in the state have also said they would release the names of priests facing abuse claims in the wake of revelations about priest sex abuse in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

“I apologize for the sins and failures of the past and I am resolutely determined that such acts of abuse should never again occur in our diocese,” Soto said. “I pledge to you that I and my brother priests are zealous in our efforts to ensure that our parishes and other Church ministries are safe environments for our children and young people.”

The list was reviewed by diocese staff and independent consulting firm Kinsale Management. The consulting firm is headed by Dr. Kathleen McChesney, a former executive assistant director of the FBI as well as a founding member of the Office of Child Protection at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The diocese explained that for an accusation to be deemed credible there needs to be "strong suspicion, or what canon law calls a 'semblance of truth,' that a crime or misconduct has occurred and that the accused cleric is the one who did it."

The review found the earliest reported incident took place in 1955 and the latest incident happened in 2014.

Three clergy members are collectively accused of 60 reported sexual abuse incidents, the review found.

“The list, since it covers 70 years, most of the men on it are dead," Eckery said. "But, for the ones who aren’t, they have to live with the implications and that’s something that we all have to live with because they violated trust. We are not going to get trust back unless we document it and unless we show it and unless we make people accountable."

 See the list of the 44 priests and two permanent deacons who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse here:

Gerardo Beltran Rico    1982-1991    Fugitive from justice
Vincent Brady    1967-2002    Retired without faculties
James Casey    1933-1992    Deceased
Andrew Coffey    1948-2006    Deceased
Malachy Conway    1995-1997    Removed from ministry
Hector Coria    2011-2014    Voluntarily dismissed from priesthood
John Crowley    1971-1988    Removed from ministry
Rodolfo Delgado    1982-2006    Life of prayer and penance
Michael Dermody    1958-1962    Deceased
Thomas Dermody    1962-1990    Deceased
William Feeser    1977-1995    Deceased
Oscar Figueroa    2000-2009    Removed from ministry
Francisco Javier Garcia    1978-1995    Fugitive from justice
John Hannan    1955-2004    Deceased
David Hernandez Cota    1979-1984    Left Diocese
Francisco Hernandez-Tovar    1986-2008    Removed from ministry
William Hold    1976-1998    Deceased
Michael Lynch    1952-1993    Deceased
James Mennis    1962-1970    Deceased
Vito Mistretta    1942-1990    Deceased
Jorge Moreno    1970-1995    Deceased
Uriel Ojeda    2007-2011    Prison
Jose Antonio Pinal    1980-1989    Fugitive from justice
William Storan    1961-2001    Retired without faculties
Simon Twomey    1970-2009    Retired without faculties
Jose Urbina    1980-1987    Fugitive from justice
Murrough Wallace    1960-2018    Retired without faculties
Michael Walsh    1971-2006    Retired without faculties

Priests from Other Dioceses

John Dowling    Savannah-Atlanta, Georgia    1947-1981    Deceased
J. Patrick Foley    San Diego​​​​​​​, California    1991-1995    Faculties denied
Priests from Religious Orders
Order    Years Active in Diocese    Current Status
Thomas Allender, SJ    Society of Jesus (Jesuit)    1970-1975    Removed from ministry
Mario Blanco Porras, SDB    Society of St Francis de Sales (Salesians of Don Bosco)    1969-1973    Deceased
Edward Boyle, CSsR    Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorist)    1963-1977    Deceased
David Brusky, SDS    Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorian)    1985-1987    Deceased
Robert Casper, SDS    Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorian)    1959-1986    Deceased
Pablo Cortes, SDB    Society of St Francis de Sales (Salesians of Don Bosco)    1970-1973    Left diocese
Arthur Falvey, SJ    Society of Jesus (Jesuit)    1955-1965    Deceased
Jerome Henson, OP    Order of Friars Preachers (Dominican)    1977-1981    Life of prayer and penance
Robert Marsicek, SDS    Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorian)    1987-2000    Removed from ministry
James Thomas Monaghan, SJ    Society of Jesus (Jesuit)    1962-1963, 1975-1991    Deceased
Z. Enrique Perez, CO    Congregation of the Oratory in Bogota, Colombia (Oratorian)    1999-2003    Faculties withdrawn
Vernon Petrich, SDS    Society of the Divine Savior (Salvatorian)    1980-1983    Removed from ministry
Michael Proulx, OSsT    Order of the Most Holy Trinity (Trinitarian)    1945-1959    Left Diocese
John “Casper” Watts, CP    Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (Passionist)    Unknown    Left Diocese
Permanent Deacons of the Diocese of Sacramento
Years Active in Diocese    Current Status
Alejandro Arroyo    1991-2012    Deceased
Jesus Magallanes    1995-1996    Removed from ministry

The following priests from other dioceses or religious orders lived or served in the Diocese of Sacramento. We have not received any allegations of abuse that occurred within the diocese that would be reviewed by the Independent Review Board. However, these names have appeared in other sources indicating abuse outside the diocese.

Laurence Brett    Bridgeport, Connecticut    N/A
Melvin Bucher, OFM    Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan)    1982-1988
Charles Gormley    Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming    1946-1947
Joseph Hoan    Diocese of Long Xuyen, South Vietnam    1986-1994
Gus Krumm, OFM    Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan)    2002
Louis Ladenburger, OFM    Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan)    1986-1987
Victor Marron    Diocese of Clogher, Ireland    1964-1966
Luis Martinez, SF    Sons of the Holy Family    2003
Kevin McBrien, OCarm    Order of Carmelites Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary (Carmelite)    1991-1997
Patrick McCabe    Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland    1986-1987
James McSorley, OMI    Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate    1986-1987
Oliver O'Grady    Stockton, California    N/A
Luis Michael O'Halloran, OP    Order of Friars Preachers (Dominican)    1978-1996
Carlton Whitten, SJ    Society of Jesus (Jesuit)    1963-1965, 1980-1987, 1990-1999
William Wood, SJ    Society of Jesus (Jesuit)    1984-1991
Luke Zimmer, SSCC    Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary    1995-1996