UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org
Summary of Case: Louis Wayne Ladenburger was ordained a Franciscan priest of the Province of Santa Barbara CA in 1963. He worked in parishes, high schools and retreat centers in dioceses including Stockton, Oakland and Sacramento CA, Phoenix AZ, Portland OR, El Paso TX (in NM), Spokane and Seattle WA, and Reno-Las Vegas NV. He earned a doctorate degree in divinity from the University of California at Berkeley and became a licensed marriage and family as well as chemical dependency therapist. Ladenburger was treated twice in the 1980s for what the Franciscans called “inappropriate professional behavior and relationships.” He was was allowed both times to return to ministry. In 1993 his order restricted Ladenburger’s ministry after they had him undergo another psychological evaluation due to “heightened concern and new awareness of abuse issues.” Ladenburger refused the restrictions and went on leave of absence. He asked for a dispensation of his vows and was laicized by the Vatican in March 1996. He was hired as a therapist in September 2006 by an Idaho school for high-risk teenage boys. In May 2007 he was fired after two boys accused him of sexual abuse, including fondling and oral sex. He admitted to abusing one of the boys. He was arrested in June and charged with three counts of sexual battery of a minor between the ages of 16 and 17. In a plea agreement in November 2007 Landenburger pleaded guilty to to one count of felony sexual misconduct. He was sentenced to up to 5 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 6 months.
Ordained: 1963
Laicized: 1996
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