LOUISIANA
The Advertiser
By Claire Taylorctaylor@theadvertiser.com September 8, 2014
A retired Christian Brother accused of molesting boys at a Catholic school in El Paso, Texas, lives in Lafayette but no longer visits a Lafayette school campus on weekends because he is suffering from cancer, a spokesman for the order said Monday.
“At the risk of sounding cynical, hundreds of times over the last quarter-century we’ve heard Catholic officials make similar claims,” David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, told The Daily Advertiser on Monday.
Catholic officials have said accused clergy are deceased when they aren’t or have Alzheimer’s when they don’t, he said.
“Even if it’s true, molesters don’t need to be physically healthy to hurt kids,” Clohessy said. “We know of very elderly priests in wheelchairs that have molested kids.”
Brother Samuel “Sammy” Martinez, 78, of the Brothers of Christian Schools, was accused of sexually abusing at least three boys when he was principal of Cathedral High School in El Paso between 1976 and 1985, according to El Paso Times stories published in January and March 2012.
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