SAN FRANCISCO (CA)
San Francisco Sentinel
Canonical and court documents have come to light from 2003 and 2005 that cast a negative light on the ministry of Priest Joseph Illo during his time in the Stockton, Calif., diocese — including a court ruling that he inflicted “intentional emotional distress” on an 11-year-old girl — have further enraged parents at San Francisco’s Star of the Sea School who have sought the priest’s removal as Star of Sea Parish administrator, according to news stories on KGO Radio and in the National Catholic Reporter and the San Francisco Examiner.
“We do not want Father Illo around children or in our community,” said Christy Brooks, a Star of the Sea parent. “The details of this past lawsuit are deplorable. There is no one, who after reading this lawsuit, would want to have their children near Father Illo. Archbishop Cordileone should remove him immediately from our school and parish. The safety and well-being of our children must be paramount.”
“We believe Archbishop Cordileone was aware of this verdict against Ft. Illo for intentional infliction of emotional distress on a child and still knowingly placed him in our community with foresight and knowledge of his history. That is shocking and unforgivable,” Brooks added. She and a group of parents from Star of the Sea have written and phoned the Archbishop demanding Illo’s removal.
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