One year after Texas' accused priests named, more allegations surface

In 2019, all Roman Catholic dioceses in Texas had released their lists of priests "credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor." The lists do not indicate those individuals who were charged or convicted of any crimes, though the names spanned nearly 70 years, joining a growing number of allegations against clergy nationwide. KXAN spoke with accusers, police and state leaders to investigate the system for reporting abuse against children. But one year later, very few additional accusers have come forward, as KXAN discovered the church’s lists were incomplete, sometimes misleading and even wrong. Our research has also filled in many blanks and reveal dozens of previously unmentioned accused priests.

One year after Texas' accused priests named, more allegations surface

In 2019, all Roman Catholic dioceses in Texas had released their lists of priests "credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor." The lists do not indicate those individuals who were charged or convicted of any crimes, though the names spanned nearly 70 years, joining a growing number of allegations against clergy nationwide. KXAN spoke with accusers, police and state leaders to investigate the system for reporting abuse against children. But one year later, very few additional accusers have come forward, as KXAN discovered the church’s lists were incomplete, sometimes misleading and even wrong. Our research has also filled in many blanks and reveal dozens of previously unmentioned accused priests.

Watch highlights of KXAN's coverage surrounding Jan. 31, 2019, when Catholic dioceses in Texas released their lists of clergy credibly accused of abusing a child.

Accused Priests

 

 

Critics say Texas' lists of accused priests did not include enough details for the public to pinpoint abuse in their communities, most often only indicating locations clergy served but not timeframes. KXAN investigators worked with a source to obtain directories of all Catholic personnel in the U.S. for 10 specific years since 2000, filling in the blanks with hundreds of Texas priests' assignments in data now available online. We have also added dozens of names to those listed by Texas' dioceses in 2019, using information collected in early 2020 by KXAN from Catholic orders and also the watchdog group, BishopAccountability.org. Links to those sources can be found in the "Links" tab in our data. The church has also added a few names itself in that time period.

Critics say Texas' lists of accused priests did not include enough details for the public to pinpoint abuse in their communities, most often only indicating locations clergy served but not timeframes. KXAN investigators worked with a source to obtain directories of all Catholic personnel in the U.S. for 10 specific years since 2000, filling in the blanks with hundreds of Texas priests' assignments in data now available online. We have also added dozens of names to those listed by Texas' dioceses in 2019, using information collected in early 2020 by KXAN from Catholic orders and also the watchdog group, BishopAccountability.org. Links to those sources can be found in the "Links" tab in our data. The church has also added a few names itself in that time period.

 

Mapping the Accused

Coverage continues below...

The Diocese of Austin listed 22 men credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.  Each red dot indicates a location in the diocese where one or more of those men was present or worked in some capacity.

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