Monterey Diocese named in lawsuit alleging child sex abuse cover up
UPDATE (10/01/18 10:30 p.m.): Attorneys have filed a lawsuit against California bishops in the Catholic Church alleging they are covering up child sex abuse.
The Diocese of Monterey is named among 10 others in California in the lawsuit, but the suit is primarily centering around alleged clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Other dioceses named are being asked to release the names and documented histories of all clerical offenders in their own churches.
One woman who attends Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Seaside says she it is a sad chapter in the church as a whole.
“What’s been going around in all churches, as far as Catholic priests, it makes me very sad to hear what I’m hearing,” said Socorro Hinojosa.
Attorneys are planning to release a 120-page report on alleged abuses in the Los Angeles area. They say there are over 300 offenders, 35 of which were allowed to leave after abuse was reported.
But Catholics on the Central Coast say the actions of a few should not cast a shadow on all priests.
“I don’t think all of them should be pointed out as being bad, we have really good priests,” said Hinojosa.
“I think it is a very small group of people making the larger church look bad,” David Chadbourne, another catholic.
Many Catholics say this is an opportunity for the church to make changes so that this does not happen again. And even if these allegations have not directly affected churches in our area, it is affecting perception.
“I don’t like for anybody to put my faith and my Catholic beliefs in that kind of a situation,” said Hinojosa.
The attorneys behind the lawsuit are holding a news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
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The Diocese of Monterey has been named in a lawsuit being filed against the California bishops for allegedly covering up child sexual abuse.
Entities named include the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Archdiocese of San Francisco; Diocese of Orange; Diocese of San Bernardino; Diocese of San Diego; Diocese of Fresno; Diocese of Sacramento; Diocese of Oakland; Diocese of San Jose; Diocese of Monterey; Diocese of Santa Rosa; and the Archdiocese of Chicago where the alleged perpetrator worked before being sent to California
Attorneys say they plan to release a 120+ page report on clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles containing information on over 300 clerical offenders and how the Archdiocese allowed over 35 perpetrators to flee the jurisdiction after reports of abuse arose.
Attorneys will also demand all California bishops immediately release the names and documented histories on all clerical offenders in each diocese secretly kept in their possession.
This is a developing story.
KION will have the latest details as they become available.
