Wester promises renewed vigilance following Pa. sex abuse report
Archbishop apologizes, calls for day of prayer, atonement on Sept. 14
Calling widespread allegations of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic clergy in Pennsylvania a “very deep and profound wound,” Archbishop of Santa Fe John C. Wester apologized to victims and families and called for a day of “prayer, atonement and reparation” on Sept. 14.
Wester issued the statement Wednesday, nine days after a grand jury report released in Harrisburg, Pa., said that hundreds of Pennsylvania priests had molested more than 1,000 children — and perhaps more — in the past 60-plus years. The report had New Mexico connections; several of the priests named had served in New Mexico parishes at one time or another and had some spent time at Servants of the Paraclete, a treatment center in Jemez Springs.
In the statement, Wester said he has asked that a victim assistance board be established “to renew our vigilance.” He said he will work with this board and an independent review board, comprising laypeople trained in the areas of sexual abuse and criminal behavior.
“As new initiatives are created,” Wester said, “I will be sure that they are communicated clearly and concisely so that Catholics and non-Catholics will be aware of our determination to make the Catholic Church a place where the children can come to the Lord without fear and [in] complete safety.”
Celine Baca Radigan, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said Wester was out of town and unavailable for comment on the statement.
Asked about the timing of the statement, Radigan said Wester has been “working with the faithful on this. This is the time he went ahead and spoke out. He felt it was important to get this out as soon as possible.”
Nearly 20 pages of the grand jury report were spent on the Rev. Edward Graff, who had worked nearly 30 years in schools and parishes in the Diocese of Allentown, Pa., before being sent to New Mexico for treatment for “serious conduct,” according to the report.
Graff later was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy in Texas. He died in jail
awaiting trial, though several people have since come forward accusing Graff of sexual abuse.
Graff is not known to have been named in any lawsuits accusing him of sexual abuse in New Mexico. He was not on the archdiocese’s updated list of 78 clergy members who had been the subject of substantiated allegations of sexual abuse.
Allegations of clergy sexual abuse buffeted New Mexico Catholics in the early 1990s and contributed to the ouster of Archbishop Robert Sanchez. He was succeeded by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan, who retired in 2015.
Wester has headed the archdiocese since Sheehan’s departure.
“I apologize to my fellow Catholics and to all who have been rightly angered, saddened and distraught by the seemingly endless stream of revelations of abuse,” Wester said in the statement.
Wester pointed to “zero tolerance” programs installed in the 1990s that have led to the removal of priests. He also said annual national audits are in place to “help ensure that the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is doing everything in compliance with the Charter [for the Protection of Children and Young People] to keep minors safe.”
“Any clergy who are accused with any shade of credibility are, and will continue to be, immediately removed from the ministry,” he said.