BAKERSFIELD (CA)
Bakersfield Californian
February 1, 2019
By Jose Gaspar
For the first time the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno will publicly name the names of San Joaquin Valley priests accused of sexual misconduct.
About time.
But don’t expect it to happen anytime soon. It’s going to take awhile for investigators to review voluminous archives.
“To ensure that this task is objectively completed in a timely manner, we will undergo an extensive review of our clergy in the spring of 2019,” said Bishop Armando Ochoa, speaking at a news conference at Diocese headquarters in Fresno on Friday.
The Catholic Church is still in crisis because of its mishandling of scores of cases in which priests abused minors.
Why is the Diocese of Fresno just now coming around to taking this action?
After last year’s horrific revelations that more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania sexually molested children, coupled with the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and credible allegations that he too sexually abused others, the Diocese was finally spurred to action.
“It shook all of us very deeply and emotionally,” said Dioceses spokeswoman Teresa Dominguez.
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