Will the Catholic Church EVER fully come clean on priests who've abused kids. Dallas Police have recently had to break into (pick the lock) to get access to a storage unit that held secret records of past abuse that the church did not turn over. Even after being asked by local police. The Diocese denied access. This behavior of the church, under all the "secrets" that have come to light over the last decade, is well.................dumbfounding.
From the Dallas Morning News 5.15.19
Missing and incomplete sex-abuse files spark Dallas police raid of Catholic diocese, storage facility
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Dallas police officers on Wednesday morning raided several Dallas Catholic Diocese offices after a detective said church officials have "thwarted" his investigations into allegations of sexual abuse by priests.
Detective David Clark wrote in a search warrant affidavit that the Diocese either hid allegations against priests, turned over incomplete records and made it next to impossible for Dallas police to determine whether claims had been made or fully examined. Clark also takes the diocese to task for its recent transparency efforts, characterizing them as little more than a public-relations effort.
The Dallas diocese released a statement after the raid that said officials had "been cooperating with the ongoing investigation of these priests." The diocese will host a news conference at 3 p.m.
But since the police investigation into one of the diocese's priests began last fall, at least five new allegations of sexual abuse have surfaced within the Dallas Catholic Diocese, said Maj. Max Geron, who oversees the special investigations division.
Police investigators, assisted by federal authorities, took files from the diocese's headquarters, a storage site and St. Cecilia, a Catholic church in Oak Cliff, where the priest who sparked the investigation previously served. Geron, at a news conference Wednesday, called the raids "wholly appropriate" for the investigation.
Wednesday's raid is one of many such actions by local law enforcement against the Catholic Church across the country in recent months. Authorities in at least a dozen states, including New York, New Jersey and Florida have announced investigations into allegations of sex abuse by priests and cover-ups by church officials. And in November, prosecutors armed with a subpoena searched the offices of the Houston-Galveston diocese, which is headed by Cardinal Daniel Dinardo, who also serves as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Dallas diocese, like other dioceses and religious orders, had promoted transparency measures in recent months as the Catholic Church locally and worldwide continues to deal with its sex abuse crisis and allegations of cover-ups. As part of a transparency effort, all Catholic dioceses in Texas — including Dallas — on Jan. 31 published lists of clergy members "credibly accused" of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.
Dallas diocese officials said they had hired a team of former law enforcement investigators to comb through its files to compile the list of 31 names. Seventeen of those on the list were already dead. And most of the allegations had already been reported.
At the center of the affidavit is the August revelation that Edmundo Paredes, the longtime pastor at St. Cecilia, was credibly accused of molesting three teenage boys in the parish over a decade ago. Diocese officials said Paredes also allegedly stole from the church.
The affidavit says the police investigation began Feb. 28, 2018, when Mary Edlund, chancellor of the Diocese, contacted the Dallas Police Department's Child Exploitation Unit about allegations made against Paredes.
Clark, the detective, wrote that the only reason Edlund contacted police was because the Diocese knew the allegations would be made public and spark media attention. The affidavit alleges Edlund told Clark "it would look better to say they contacted the police."
Police said the allegations against Paredes date back decades, and were known by church officials since at least 2006.
According to the affidavit, Edlund told Clark that Paredes' file, which had been turned over to law enforcement, should contain information about 2006 meetings regarding the priest.
"That file did not contain any information regarding the 2006 meeting between parishioners and Chancellor Edlund," Clark wrote in the affidavit.
Clark wrote that he reached out to the Diocese's attorney Bill Sims, who told the detective the Diocese and victims who had come forward were in the "monetary settlement process." The attorney also told the detective "he believed the victims did not want to pursue criminal allegations," according to the affidavit.
From the Dallas Morning News 5.15.19
Missing and incomplete sex-abuse files spark Dallas police raid of Catholic diocese, storage facility
Written by
Dallas police officers on Wednesday morning raided several Dallas Catholic Diocese offices after a detective said church officials have "thwarted" his investigations into allegations of sexual abuse by priests.
Detective David Clark wrote in a search warrant affidavit that the Diocese either hid allegations against priests, turned over incomplete records and made it next to impossible for Dallas police to determine whether claims had been made or fully examined. Clark also takes the diocese to task for its recent transparency efforts, characterizing them as little more than a public-relations effort.
The Dallas diocese released a statement after the raid that said officials had "been cooperating with the ongoing investigation of these priests." The diocese will host a news conference at 3 p.m.
But since the police investigation into one of the diocese's priests began last fall, at least five new allegations of sexual abuse have surfaced within the Dallas Catholic Diocese, said Maj. Max Geron, who oversees the special investigations division.
Police investigators, assisted by federal authorities, took files from the diocese's headquarters, a storage site and St. Cecilia, a Catholic church in Oak Cliff, where the priest who sparked the investigation previously served. Geron, at a news conference Wednesday, called the raids "wholly appropriate" for the investigation.
Wednesday's raid is one of many such actions by local law enforcement against the Catholic Church across the country in recent months. Authorities in at least a dozen states, including New York, New Jersey and Florida have announced investigations into allegations of sex abuse by priests and cover-ups by church officials. And in November, prosecutors armed with a subpoena searched the offices of the Houston-Galveston diocese, which is headed by Cardinal Daniel Dinardo, who also serves as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Dallas diocese, like other dioceses and religious orders, had promoted transparency measures in recent months as the Catholic Church locally and worldwide continues to deal with its sex abuse crisis and allegations of cover-ups. As part of a transparency effort, all Catholic dioceses in Texas — including Dallas — on Jan. 31 published lists of clergy members "credibly accused" of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.
Dallas diocese officials said they had hired a team of former law enforcement investigators to comb through its files to compile the list of 31 names. Seventeen of those on the list were already dead. And most of the allegations had already been reported.
At the center of the affidavit is the August revelation that Edmundo Paredes, the longtime pastor at St. Cecilia, was credibly accused of molesting three teenage boys in the parish over a decade ago. Diocese officials said Paredes also allegedly stole from the church.
The affidavit says the police investigation began Feb. 28, 2018, when Mary Edlund, chancellor of the Diocese, contacted the Dallas Police Department's Child Exploitation Unit about allegations made against Paredes.
Clark, the detective, wrote that the only reason Edlund contacted police was because the Diocese knew the allegations would be made public and spark media attention. The affidavit alleges Edlund told Clark "it would look better to say they contacted the police."
Police said the allegations against Paredes date back decades, and were known by church officials since at least 2006.
According to the affidavit, Edlund told Clark that Paredes' file, which had been turned over to law enforcement, should contain information about 2006 meetings regarding the priest.
"That file did not contain any information regarding the 2006 meeting between parishioners and Chancellor Edlund," Clark wrote in the affidavit.
Clark wrote that he reached out to the Diocese's attorney Bill Sims, who told the detective the Diocese and victims who had come forward were in the "monetary settlement process." The attorney also told the detective "he believed the victims did not want to pursue criminal allegations," according to the affidavit.
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