The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston is defending Cardinal Daniel DiNardo after a CBS News investigation accused him of "a lack of action" in handling sex abuse allegations.
DiNardo is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, making him one of the most powerful Catholic officials in the country. He has also been one of the most vocal critics of the church's handling of its sex abuse scandal.
DiNardo, the archbishop of Galveston-Houston since 2006, has vowed to release by January a list of all the priests in Houston who have been, in the church's judgment, "credibly accused" of sexually abusing a child.
This summer, Rev. Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, a priest whom DiNardo had promoted, was arrested for allegedly molesting two children. A third accuser has since come forward.
Now, CBS News has uncovered two more cases involving accused priests who are still active.
John LaBonte said Rev. John Keller molested him when he was 16 years old. He said DiNardo has allowed Keller to continue presiding over one of the largest Catholic churches in Houston.
"I shrank. I was like, I'm not here. I left my body. They say there's the flight and fright. Well, I was frozen," LaBonte said.
He said he felt it was his "duty as a Catholic" to speak out about his experience. He brought his allegations to the archdiocese in 2002. He said he told them that Keller plied him with alcohol and fondled him in his bed on an overnight trip.
CBS News looked over court records, turning up graphic allegations against a second active priest in Houston. In a sworn affidavit, a victim accused Rev. Terence Brinkman of "wearing his priest collar as he sodomized me" as a 12-year-old in the 1970s. Attorneys for DiNardo's archdiocese argued that the statute of limitations had passed and the case was thrown out of court.
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston responded to the CBS News allegations on Wednesday.
Each accusation was reviewed by the Archdiocesan lay review board who recommended that both priests be allowed to minister. These are the only accusations made against either priest who have each served more than 40 years in the Archdiocese," The archdiocese said in a written statement.
Here is the complete statement issued by The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston:
This week, CBS News released a series of inaccurate news stories concerning the Church abuse scandal that demands a response. In these stories, CBS alleges that two priests who have been accused of sexual abuse against a minor have been allowed to continue their ministry. The Archdiocese responded to over 30 questions submitted to it by CBS News this past weekend, only to see almost all of our responses completely ignored by the CBS team.
It is true that two priests remain in ministry who have each been accused of sexually abusing a minor. One accusation was made approximately 20 years after the alleged abuse. The other was made over 30 years after the alleged abuse. Both priests denied they had committed sexual abuse. Each accusation was reviewed by the Archdiocesan lay review board who recommended that both priests be allowed to minister. These are the only accusations made against either priest who have each served more than 40 years in the Archdiocese.
Meanwhile, Cardinal DiNardo spent most of the last two months in Rome at the Synod of Bishops and otherwise working with the top leadership urging action on the abuse scandal. In the middle of this, Cardinal DiNardo joined with the other bishops across Texas to announce they will release a comprehensive list of those priests who have been “credibly accused” of sexually abusing minors by the end of this coming January. And, the Archdiocese has also engaged a nationally respected outside expert to help compile and validate this critically important list.
This Archdiocese takes every allegation of wrongdoing seriously, and is fully cooperating — and will cooperate — with any and all investigations related the clergy abuse scandal.