HOUSTON — Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston called
a series of news stories by CBS News on the church sex abuse scandal
"inaccurate," saying they "demand a response."
"In these stories, CBS alleges that the Archdiocese of
Galveston-Houston has allowed priests who have been 'credibly accused' of
sexual abuse against a minor to continue their ministry as priests," said
the cardinal, who is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"The archdiocese responded to over 30 questions submitted to
it by CBS News this past weekend, only to see almost all of our responses
completely ignored by the CBS team," he added in a statement released Nov.
21.
In a story that aired Nov. 20, CBS News reported on allegations
made against Fathers Terence Brinkman and John Keller, who are in active
ministry in Houston.
In his statement, Cardinal DiNardo confirmed the two priests each
had had an accusation of abuse lodged against them, which they both denied, he
said. The respective incidents occurred decades ago, the cardinal said, and a
lay board reviewed them and concluded the priests should stay in ministry.
"It is true that two priests remain in ministry who have
each been accused of sexually abusing a minor," Cardinal DiNardo said.
"One accusation was made approximately 20 years after the alleged abuse.
The other was made over 30 years after the alleged abuse. Both priests denied
they had committed sexual abuse.
"Each accusation was reviewed by the archdiocesan lay review
board who recommended that both priests be allowed to minister," he
continued. "These are the only accusations made against either priest, who
have each served more than 40 years in the archdiocese."
CBS News interviewed a man named John LaBonte, who said that in
2002 he spoke to archdiocesan officials about Father Keller, who LaBonte said
had "fondled" him during an overnight parish trip when LaBonte was
16.
LaBonte told CBS he felt it was his "duty as a
Catholic" to talk about what he said happened to him.
The archdiocese supplied CBS with a letter saying Father Keller
had acknowledged holding LaBonte in an "inappropriate manner for a
priest" but he denied there was any "sexual intent."
CBS News in its report did quote a statement from Cardinal
DiNardo, who has headed the archdiocese since 2006. "I want to assure my
brothers and sisters in Christ that we are cooperating, and will cooperate,
fully with any investigation involving possible abuse," he said.
"While the church as a whole has made important strides especially since
2002 in addressing this evil, we still have important work to do. We can, and
will, do better."
Cardinal DiNardo's Nov. 21 statement on the CBS News coverage
included a comment from the archdiocese pointing out that before the bishops'
Nov. 12-14 fall assembly in Baltimore, the cardinal had spent much of the last
two months in Rome attending the Synod of Bishops and "otherwise working
with the top leadership urging action on the abuse scandal."
In an interview with Catholic News Service in Rome Oct. 22,
Cardinal DiNardo said that while the clerical sexual abuse crisis did not
dominate discussions at the synod of Bishops, it was discussed and that
everyone in the room clearly believed the crisis has to be dealt with.
Cardinal DiNardo and Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, USCCB
conference vice president, who also was in Rome for the synod, met privately
with Pope Francis in early October to discuss the handling of years of
allegations of sexual misconduct by former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of
Washington.
Contributing to this story was Julie Asher in Washington.