Report: Diocese of San Bernardino a ‘dumping ground for problem priests’
This morning, a 70-page report detailing instances of alleged clergy sexual abuse in the Diocese of San Bernardino was released during a news conference held in Ontario.
The report alleged that the diocese served as a ‘dumping ground for problem priests’, citing a history of abuses outlined in the report, as well as a letter from a former of Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego, which formerly covered a large swath of area which is now the in the Diocese of San Bernardino.
The report detailed the histories, backgrounds, and assignments of over 80 priests who served in the Diocese (which covers both Riverside and San Bernardino County) who had been accused.
In the report, 12 priests not previously listed in the report released by the Diocese in October were listed. In the ‘Purpose & Background’ section of the report released by Jeff Anderson & Associates, more details are provided about how the allegations listed in the ‘Clerics, Religious Employees and Volunteers Accused of Sexual Misconduct in the Diocese of San Bernardino’ section of the report were compiled.
“While lawsuits were filed involving many of these alleged perpetrators, the vast majority of the claims against these individuals have been settled or have not been fully evaluated in a civil or criminal court. Accordingly, the allegations should be considered just allegations and should not be considered proved or substantiated in a court of law. All individuals should be considered innocent until proven guilty. In some situations, the statute of limitations has expired preventing the cases from being heard in a court of law.”
Read the full report by Jeff Anderson & Associates below:
In response to the Anderson Report, the Diocese of San Bernardino issued the following statement:
“We’d have to probably look a little bit more at some of these names to be able to offer you a rationale for why they weren’t on our list. I’m not in a position to do that right now, so I can’t help you there.”
“Our list is our very best effort to disclose the clergy abuse cases that happened in the years that we actually existed as a diocese, since 1978. But because we did used to be part of San Diego, we also published the list that they put out, and we encouraged people to look at the two lists together to get the full picture of abuse cases in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. There was no attempt to mislead anyone.”
“We’ve put our list out, and we’ve amended it one time. So we’ve shown that we’re open to looking at other cases we become aware of. The whole reason we’re doing this is to be transparent and forthcoming with the people and in the name of healing for victims because that’s what we’re called to do, and we’re going to continue to do it.”
In October 2018, the Diocese of San Bernardino released the names of priests credibly accused of sexually abusing minors over the past 40 years. The list revealed seven instances of abuse occurring at parishes in the Coachella Valley.
The report today mentioned 13 local priests not included in the Diocese’s October report. Nine priests were assigned to Churches in the Coachella Valley, two in Banning, one in Beaumont, and one in Twentynine Palms.
Father Michael O’Connor Assigned to Our Lady of Solitude in Palm Springs – 1938-1942, 1956 -1953 Father Raymond O’Donohue Assigned to St. Theresa in Palm Springs – 1954 – 1961 Father Robert Daniel Nikolborc Assigned to St. Boniface School and Boys Town of the Desert in Banning – 1957, 1958 – 1969 Father Michael Victor Marron Assigned to Precious Blood in Banning – 1963 Father Maximiliano Macouzet Assigned to Our Lady of Perpetual Help – 1962- 1965 Father James Ganahl Assigned to San Gorgonio in Beaumont – 1969 – 1973 Msgr. Brent Eeagen Assigned to Boys Town of the Desert in Banning – 1970 -1973 Father Eugene De Francisco Assigned to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Indio – 1962 Father John Daly Assigned to St. Theresa’s in Palm Springs – 1960 -1961 Also assigned to St. Joan of Arc in Blythe 1974 – 1975 Father Peadar Brennan Assigned to St. Francis Assisi in La Quinta – 1983 – 1988 Father Edito D’Amora Assigned as Military Chaplain at the Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms – 1986 -1988
Also included in the report were six of the seven Coachella Valley priests previously named by the Diocese of San Bernardino in October.
Full news conference:
