Rev. Roberto A. de Otero—Assignment Record

Summary of Case: Accused in 5/17/02 suit of abusing 2 altar boys in late 1980s in Honolulu; settled 6/04. Accused in 8/30/04 suit of abusing boy at same parish in 1985. On leave 1987-89; Navy chaplain 1989-93. Admitted in 1993 to abusing a boy at a CA Marine base and resigned. After DiLorenzo came to Honolulu in 1993 he removed de Otero from public ministry. Had begun career in Portland OR archdiocese where in 1977-81 he had 2 parish assignments and was on sick leave before being loaned then excardinated to Honolulu.

Ordained: 1977
Incardinated: Portland OR (1977-84); Honolulu HI (1984-at least 2002)

     

Start Stop Parish Town State Position Notes

1977

Bishop was Cornelius M. Power (1974-86).

 1979 Sacred Heart of Jesus Medford OR 3/4. Pastor was Very Rev. Joseph Beno, dean of Medford deanery and VP of priests' senate.

Portland archdiocese. Elementary school had 358 pupils. HS had 179 students.
1977 1979 St. Joseph Jacksonville OR   Mission of Sacred Heart
1979 1980 St. Andrew's Portland OR 3/3. Also member of Vicariate San Salvador, the archdiocesan Spanish-Speaking Apostolate led by Portland archdiocese.
1980 1981 Sick leave     Listed in the archdiocesan pages as on sick leave, but not indexed in the 1981 Directory. Portland archdiocese.

1981

Bishop of Honolulu was John J. Scanlan (1968-81); he was succeeded by Joseph A. Ferrario (1982-93).

 1982 Sacred Hearts Academy Honolulu HI Sole priest; not named in school entry in Honolulu diocesan pages.

Elementary school had 318 girls.

Indexed and listed in the 1982 Directory as a Portland priest working outside the archdiocese. Portland entry provides name of school in Hawaii.
1982 1983 On duty outside archdiocese       Portland archdiocese. In the 1983 Directory, de Otero's location outside the archdiocese is not given.
1983 1984 Our Lady of the Mount Honolulu HI 3/3. Listed as Portland priest.
1984 1987 St. John the Baptist

Honolulu

• Accused in 8/30/04 suit of abusing a boy here in 1985. See article.

• Accused in 5/17/02 suit of kissing two boys from this parish and fondling their genitals. One boy was 11 or 12 years old when the abuse began. See article.

 HI 2/2.

Elementary school had 292 students.

First listed as a Honolulu priest in the 1985 Directory, indexed as Otero, Roberto de. Previously he was indexed as de Otero, Roberto.
1987 1989 Leave of Absence       Not indexed in the 1988 and 1989 Directory. Diocesan spokesman stated in 2002 that de Otero "requested a personal leave of absence in 1987 for reasons that are unknown at this point." See article.

1989

Archbishops of Military Services during this time were Joseph T. Ryan (1985-1991) and Joseph T. Dimino (1991-97).

 1993 U.S. Navy • Resigned from the Navy after admitting he molested a boy at the Marine base in Twentynine Palms CA. See article.    

In the 1990, 1992, and 1993 Directory, indexed as DeOtero, a Honolulu priest and military chaplain, and listed in the Honolulu pages as a Navy chaplain, but not listed in Military Services pages.

1993

Francis X. DiLorenzo was Honolulu apostolic delegate (1993-94) and bishop (1994-2004).

 1997 On duty outside the diocese       Indexed and listed in Directory as Honolulu priest. Diocesan spokesman stated in 2002 that after DiLorenzo arrived in 1993, he removed DeOtero from active ministry, along with 3 other priests. DeOtero "admitted to the misconduct." See article.
1997 2002 Leave of Absence       Indexed and listed in Directory as Honolulu priest.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1978-2002).

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates de Otero's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations, legal complaints, and admissions as they are reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report. We remind our readers that in the U.S. judicial system, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty.

A Note on Nomenclature: We use the term "assignment record," instead of the more common "service record," because "service" is not an appropriate word for the activities of an abusive priest. Dioceses are often less than forthcoming about the activities of retired priests, but when we can determine those activities, we list them in these assignment records, particularly if they involve ministry. Retired priests remain under obedience to their bishop, and even the activities of laicized priests should be a concern to the diocese.

This assignment record was last updated on 12/11/07.