Archbishop 'exasperated' over accused priest's refusal to return

By Emily E. Smith
Oregonian
August 20, 2015

http://www.oregonlive.com/sherwood/index.ssf/2015/08/archbishop_exasperated_over_pr.html

St. Francis Catholic Church and St. Francis School are located in Sherwood.

St. Francis School shares a campus with St. Francis Catholic Church in Sherwood.

The St. Francis church and school buildings sit beneath a canopy of pine trees in Sherwood.

St. Francis Catholic Church is located in Sherwood.

Police say a "wall socket hidden camera" was found in the bathroom of St. Francis Catholic Church on April 26.

The Archbishop of Portland sent a letter to parishioners Thursday afternoon addressing the case of a Sherwood priest who apparently left the country as police investigated the hidden camera discovered in his church's bathroom.

Church leaders say they learned on July 29 that the Rev. Ysrael Bien had gone to The Philippines.

Sherwood police learned the same about three weeks later when they went to arrest him Tuesday in Portland. Investigators now believe he left the country on June 30, six days after he was suspended from leading the congregation at St. Francis Catholic Church.

Read Archbishop Alexander Sample's letter to parishioners.

And find more of our coverage below:

• How the hidden camera in a church bathroom was discovered

• How police linked Bien to the hidden spy camera

• The archdiocese's response to the accusations against Bien

-- Emily E. Smith