TUCSON (AZ)
Tucson Sentinel [Tucson AZ]
August 10, 2024
By Natalie Robbins
Franciscan Friars bankruptcy includes limits on payments for molestation allegations: Aug. 30 deadline
urvivors of sexual abuse by members of the Franciscan Friars of the Province of St. Barbara — including those living in Arizona — must file claims in the order’s bankruptcy case by the end of the month.
Notice of an earlier deadline was not provided to Native American tribes in Arizona and New Mexico, where many of the 52 accused priests spent time over the preceding decades.
Former Pascua Yaqui Attorney General Alfred Urbina said he did not receive any notice regarding a July 19 filing deadline from the Franciscans, as was mandated by the court overseeing the bankruptcy case. Urbina took it upon himself to notify the tribe after being contacted by a journalist from the National Catholic Reporter, he said.
“If potential claims are going to arise from tribal communities, I would think that (notifying them) would be something that naturally you would want to do, right?” Urbina said. “That’s just, for me, logically what should have happened.”
The deadline was extended to August 30 after an NCR reporter questioned the lack of notice, and the Franciscans asked the court to allow for more time.
The Franciscan Friars, an order of Catholic priests based in Oakland, Calif., was founded in 1915 and serves the Western United States. Fifty-two former and current friars have been “credibly accused” of sexual abuse since 1934, in addition to several more that have been informally accused, according to a list on the Franciscans’ website.
Although some of the abuse accusations date back decades, Urbina said he “absolutely” believes there are living members of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe that may have been affected, citing one priest on the list whose abuse reports coincided with his time in the Yaqui community of Guadalupe, Ariz.
“You can make the connections simply by saying, ‘Okay, these folks were here during this time, and therefore there’s a likelihood that there could be extra or additional survivors or people that were abused,’” Urbina said. “They would probably be older folks, or some folks might have passed on, but the information could be held by their families or older victims.”
The National Catholic Reporter first reported that the Franciscans mailed “sexual abuse claim notice packages” to sheriffs offices, attorneys general, federal agencies and newspapers in 25 counties, though none of the notices went out to tribal governments in New Mexico or Arizona.
Deputy Pascua Yaqui Attorney General Oscar Flores said the tribe does now have an official notice from the Franciscans, but is not sure whether it was received from the Franciscans directly or obtained via another party. Flores said as far as he’s aware, the tribe has not received any additional communication from the Franciscan Friars.
A spokesperson from the Tohono O’Odham Nation, where some of the accused priests spent time, said he was not familiar with the situation.
The friars’ “credibly accused” list includes 24 friars with placements in Arizona, five of whom were assigned to Native American reservations in or near Tucson over a period of time beginning in 1988 and ending in 2007.
The five credibly accused Franciscan Friars who spent time in Tucson are:
Friar Camillus Cavagnaro, who served in Phoenix, Tucson, Sells, Whiteriver and San Carlos, Ariz. In 2004, Cavagnaro was accused of sexually abusing a minor from 1962 to 1965, during part of which he was stationed at San Solano Missions on the Tohono O’Odham Reservation. Cavagnaro spent two stints at San Xavier del Bac, one from 2002 to 2005 and another from 2006 to 2007. He died in 2011 at age 92.
Friar Berard Connolly, who served at San Xavier del Bac from 1988 to 1993. Over more than two decades, Connolly received four formal accusations alleging that he sexually abused minors from 1960 to 1963 and from 1982 to 1984, while living in Oregon and California. He died in 1999.
Friar Kevin Dunne, who spent time in Phoenix and Tucson. Dunne served at San Xavier del Bac from 1995 to 1997. In 1993, Dunne was accused of sexually abusing a minor from 1970 to 1973, when he was living in California. He died in 2010.
Friar Adrian Furman, who served in Phoenix at St. Mary’s from 1964 to 1966 and in Tucson at San Xavier del Bac. Dates of Furman’s time in Tucson are not available. Two reports filed in 2002 and 2010 accuse Furman of sexual abuse of minors from 1959 to 1965, which overlaps with his time in Phoenix. Furman died in 2003.
Friar Remy Rudin, who served in Topawa and Cowlic, Ariz. on the Tohono O’Odham Reservation and in Laveen, Ariz. near the Gila River Indian Community. Rudin spent time on the Tohono O’Odham Reservation from 1951 to 1960, from 1977 to 1978, and again from 1985 to 1989. Rudin was accused in 2004 and 2017 of sexual abuse of minors from 1965 to 1975, during which he would have been located in Oregon and California. Rudin died in 1991.
One friar on the “credibly accused” list spent time in Guadalupe, Ariz., a small town outside of Phoenix considered a traditional tribal community because of its large Yaqui population:
Friar Santiago Almaguer was at Our Lady of Guadalupe in the town just south of Tempe in 1978. The following year, he was accused of sexually abusing a minor during his time there. Almaguer moved to Mexico in 1979. His whereabouts are currently unknown.
The Franciscans filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2023 year after being served with an influx of new lawsuits following a California law lifting the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases. The province of priests faced at least 94 new abuse claims.
The friars did not return multiple requests for comment from the Tucson Sentinel.
After the failure to notify the tribes was noted by the court, the deadline to file a claim was extended to August 30 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Anyone wishing to file a claim can do so online.