PUEBLO (CO)
The Pueblo Chieftain
By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
In an apparent act of contrition, the Catholic Diocese of Pueblo on Friday issued a statement apologizing to victims of clergy sexual abuse.
"In light of the new complaints being made against former Marianist Brother William Mueller I, as the bishop of Pueblo, wish to state again that I am truly sorry for any harm and pain that has been suffered by victims of sexual misconduct," Bishop Arthur Tafoya said in a written statement.
In the statement, Tafoya denied the diocese was aware of alleged abuse that has been the subject of recent lawsuits.
Eight lawsuits in Pueblo have been filed against the diocese and the Marianist religious order. The suits allege that Mueller, a religion and music teacher at Roncalli High School from 1966 until the school closed in 1971, used the guise of conducting scientific experiments to get students alone, then incapacitated them with ether and sexually molested them.