Timeline of the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal

By Peter Rowe And Merrie Monteagudo
San Diego Tribune
September 10, 2017

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/religion/sd-me-abuse-timeline-20170901-story.html

[Note: This is a multi-part feature. It also includes: A decade after settling sex abuse cases, the Diocese of San Diego still copes with the fallout; Back story: Skepticism and cautious optimism, a decade after a scandal's landmark settlements; Four priests who abused their flock: Grim stories from the San Diego diocese files; Largest sexual abuse settlements by Roman Catholic institutions in the U.S..]

January: The Boston Globe launches an investigative series into allegations of Catholic priests sexually abusing minors and archdiocesan cover-ups. The cases go back decades.

June: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issues “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” declaring a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual abuse. The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego reveals allegations made against 23 priests — 18 in San Diego County and five in Imperial County — since Bishop Robert Brom’s arrival in 1990.

August: Brom reveals that retired Monsignor Rudolph Galindo admitted sexually abusing three boys and urges victims to speak up. Two lawsuits are filed in San Diego Superior Court on behalf of two men who say they were sexually abused by priests when they were minors.

January: California lifts the statute of limitations on civil cases for one year, allowing sexual abuse victims to sue, regardless of when incidents occurred. By the Dec. 31 deadline, the Diocese of San Diego had been named in 99 such lawsuits involving more than 140 victims.

September: The Archdiocese of Boston agrees to pay $85 million to more than 500 people.

February: In a letter to San Diego priests, Brom says that accusations by 128 people against 42 priests in the diocese since 1950 were “substantiated or are credible.” The diocese found 18 priests were either falsely accused or claims against them could not be substantiated.

February: A church-appointed national review board rebukes U.S. bishops for “shameful” failure to stop widespread clerical sex abuse over the past half-century. The tally shows 10,667 abuse claims involving minors lodged against 4 percent of the clergy (about 3 percent in San Diego).

February: The John Jay College of Criminal Justice releases a study sponsored by the U.S. bishops, "The Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons, 1950-2002."

July: The Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., becomes the first Catholic diocese to seek bankruptcy protection in the face of sexual abuse claims.

December: The Diocese of Orange in California agrees to pay $100 million to about 90 victims, with payouts ranging from $50,000 to nearly $4 million.

May: A Los Angeles judge coordinating nearly 600 sexual-abuse lawsuits filed in Los Angeles and San Diego says five cases in each city can go forward.

February: The Diocese of San Diego files for bankruptcy protection the day before the first trial is to begin. It is the nation’s fifth diocese to seek Chapter 11 reorganization, and the largest.

March: The Diocese of San Diego releases the names of 38 priests with “credible allegations” of sexually abusing minors, along with their church service records dating to 1928.

July: The Archdiocese of Los Angeles agrees to pay $660 million to 508 victims. It is the largest settlement of its kind in the Catholic Church.

September: The Diocese of San Diego reaches a $198.1 million agreement with 144 victims. The diocese also promises to release church documents about abusers’ histories.

March: The Diocese of San Diego pays its share of the settlement; insurance and other religious orders are also involved. The average payout: $1.3 million per plaintiff; after lawyers’ fees are subtracted, .

February: Lawyers for the victims in San Diego begin to gain access to files about priests accused of molesting parishioners.

October: A retired San Diego Superior Court judge orders the Diocese of San Diego to make public 10,000 pages of previously confidential personnel files of 48 priests who were accused of sexual abuse or had credible allegations lodged against them.

May: John Jay College releases an updated report, "The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010."

April: Rev. Jose Alexis Davila, a priest at St. Jude's Shrine of the West in Southcrest, pleads guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge for groping a woman at his home. He’s sentenced to three years probation.

September: Cirilo Flores formally is installed as bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, succeeding retired Bishop Robert Brom. After 11 months in office, Flores succumbed to cancer.

July: Pope Francis meets with sex abuse victims.

April: Robert W. McElroy is installed as the Diocese of San Diego’s bishop.

June: Pope Francis announces he will create a tribunal to punish bishops who cover up instances of sex abuse.

December: Rev. Davila is assigned to four Oklahoma congregations, despite his 2012 battery conviction in San Diego.

April: Rev. Davila is removed from his priestly duties. Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley said “new information regarding the allegations against Rev. Alexis Davila” made the move necessary.

October: Rev. Jacob Betrand, a San Diego priest, charged with criminal sexual conduct in Minnesota. He’s accused of having sexual contact with a woman in 2010 while providing spiritual guidance. A jury trial is set for January 2018.