El Paso Priest Charged with Sex Offense, Victims React

SNAP
February 21, 2014

http://www.snapnetwork.org/tx_el_paso_priest_charged_with_sex_offense_victims_react

A retired Catholic priest who lives in El Paso and has worked at St. Raphael's parish in El Paso has been charged with criminal sexual contact.

[northjersey.com]

[kswo.com]

[elpasodiocese.org]

Fr. Philip Briganti allegedly assaulted a man after a wedding in New Jersey.

We hope that this was an isolated incidence. We doubt that's true. In 2005, according to the Observer-Tribune, Fr. Briganti suddenly left his Mendham, NJ parish after someone apparently tried to extort money from him for photos he sent over the internet, according to Mendham NJ police Lt. John Taylor.

Paterson Catholic officials claim they immediately called prosecutors when they learned about the recent charge. We hope that's true.

And we hope that El Paso Bishop Mark J. Seitz and Paterson Bishop Arthur Joseph Serratelli will use their vast resources to reach out to anyone else who might have been hurt by Fr. Briganti. We encourage anyone who saw, suspects or suffered abuse to report to law enforcement, not to church officials.

We also hope that Bishop Seitz doesn't “pass the buck” or split hairs, claiming that Fr. Briganti isn't his responsibility. We strongly suspect that Fr. Briganti has used his title to gain access to kids in El Paso too and has at the very least performed priestly duties on a substitute basis in Texas.