3 former local priests on accused list
Jesuit order says clergymen who worked in S.A. may have sexually abused minors in ’60s, ’70s
A U.S.-based component of the Jesuit order of Roman Catholic priests on Friday became the newest Catholic institution to identify some of its own as “credibly accused” in the sexual abuse of minors, listing among them three former San Antonio clergymen, now deceased.
The statement came from the U.S. Central and Southern Province — one of two provinces of the Jesuits, also known as the Society of Jesus, that made such announcements Friday.
It named the three San Antonio priests as Alfonso Madrid, who served at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church on the West Side; Francis M. Landwermeyer, who worked at Central Catholic and Antonian high schools and St. Cecilia Catholic Church; and Austin N. Park, who also worked at Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Words cannot possibly suffice to express our sorrow and shame for what occurred,” Father Ronald Mercier, provincial leader of the Central and Southern Province, said in the statement.
It said the alleged abuse by the three priests happened in the 1960s and ’70s, but did not specify where. Each had more that one allegation made against him, the order said.
The three men worked in multiple cities. Park, for example, had 17 pastoral assignments altogether.
A news release Friday from the Archdiocese of San Antonio said Our Lady of Guadalupe’s parish had been informed of the allegations against Madrid in 2015. Jesuits have served the parish since 1932 but will be leaving it this month due to a shortage of priests.
Madrid, who died in 1982 before the allegations were received, also worked in Jesuit High School in New Orleans, a parish in Albuquerque, N.M., and two in El Paso, according to Friday’s announcement.
Landwermeyer, who died this year, was removed from ministry in 2010 and left the order and the priesthood the following year, the Jesuits’ announcement said.
He had worked in Jesuit schools
in Dallas, Shreveport, La., New Orleans and Tampa, Fla., and at Marquette and Loyola universities, among other assignments.
According to the archdiocese, Landwermeyer worked in San Antonio from 1990 to 2004, serving as pastor at St. Cecilia church, and as a parochial vicar and in residence at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and St. Brigid Church.
The archdiocese “does not know of any allegations that Landwermeyer sexually abused children in the archdiocese,” its news release said. “The archdiocese will verify this with the Jesuit province.”
Park, who died in 2013, was “already out of ministry due to dementia” when the allegations were received, the Jesuit province said. It put the time frame for the alleged abuse in the 1960s.
The archdiocese said Park served at Guadalupe parish from 1957-58 and 1961-63. The archdiocese also said it received allegations against Park in late September.
In addition to San Antonio, Park had pastoral assignments at Jesuit high schools in El Paso, Shreveport, New Orleans and Colegio San Ignacio in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, as well as in 12 other schools and parishes.
Archbishop Gustavo GarcíaSiller did not address the accusations directly Friday, but a news release from the archdiocese said, “We pledge to maintain safe environments for everyone, and all policies and procedures regarding training and background check requirements are publicly available.”
The archdiocese “remains strongly committed to restoring trust and healing the wounds of anyone who may have been hurt by sexual abuse. The archdiocese will continue to work toward making every Catholic parish, school and institution a safe harbor for all.”
The Jesuits’ online announcements come about a month before the scheduled release of a list of “credibly accused” priests from the archdiocese. An outside commission is auditing archdiocese records of about 150 such cases and its report, expected Jan. 31, is to be made public.
The archdiocese said Friday that allegations about Madrid and Park were included in the information provided to the commission, which is led by former Texas 4th Court of Appeals Judge Catherine Stone.
In October, García-Siller promised a full disclosure of accusations of sexual abuse of children by priests and said the commission would review files going back 75 years.
Also in October, the archdiocese removed Father Edward Pavlicek from ministry over a child sexual abuse allegation in the 1980s. He was serving as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Canyon Lake.
A Pennsylvania grand jury report included Father David Connell, who served in San Antonio from 1976 to his death in 1995. In Pennsylvania, Connell was accused of drugging and raping a minor on at least two occasions, sexually abusing the victim’s brother and trying to have sex with another victim on a camping trip.
The U.S. Central and Southern Province announcement on Friday said its list included “Jesuits from other provinces against whom there are credible claims resulting from their work while assigned to this province; (and) Jesuits of this province whose names have been published on diocesan websites or the websites of other Jesuit provinces.”
The other Jesuit province, Jesuits West, on Friday released a significantly longer list of accused priests and brothers, but it contained no mention of San Antonio ties.