Center of the storm
Reno, Nevada --
Reno’s former bishop is not accused in any sexual abuse case, but he has been named as a key witness in more than 150 lawsuits. What did he know about the activities of the priests around him?
Reno Catholic leader Bishop Phillip Straling, who retired unexpectedly last month, is a key witness in more than 150 lawsuits in Southern California filed against priests accused of molesting children. In some cases, he is accused of negligence for failing to stop the abuse.
And prosecutors last week seized records from Straling’s former diocese in San Bernardino looking for information on the religious leader’s former aide, Jesus Dominguez, who recently disappeared after being charged with 58 counts of sexual assault.
The lawsuits and lawyers say Straling, while a priest in San Diego and bishop of San Bernardino, might have known that the accused priests were having sex with children but did nothing to stop them. Many believe he played a part in shuffling abusive priests to new parishes where they had access to and sometimes continued to molest children.
After moving to Reno in 1995, Straling transferred at least one accused priest, Robert Buchanan, from San Bernardino to Reno. A 2003 lawsuit claims Buchanan engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a teen while working at a school in San Diego. Buchanan, who still lives in Reno, has denied the allegation.
No claims of priests abusing children have been filed against Reno priests since Straling took over, according to a diocese official. One Reno priest, the late Monsignor Robert Bowling, was accused in 11 lawsuits, 10 of which were filed against the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., of alleged abuse in the 1960s. The eleventh case involved a Reno woman who said he behaved sexually inappropriately while she was an adult. The Louisville archdiocese settled all 11 cases for $25.7 million in 2003.
Read the article at rgj.com Dated July 30, 2005
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Reno’s former bishop is not accused in any sexual abuse case, but he has been named as a key witness in more than 150 lawsuits. What did he know about the activities of the priests around him?
Reno Catholic leader Bishop Phillip Straling, who retired unexpectedly last month, is a key witness in more than 150 lawsuits in Southern California filed against priests accused of molesting children. In some cases, he is accused of negligence for failing to stop the abuse.
And prosecutors last week seized records from Straling’s former diocese in San Bernardino looking for information on the religious leader’s former aide, Jesus Dominguez, who recently disappeared after being charged with 58 counts of sexual assault.
The lawsuits and lawyers say Straling, while a priest in San Diego and bishop of San Bernardino, might have known that the accused priests were having sex with children but did nothing to stop them. Many believe he played a part in shuffling abusive priests to new parishes where they had access to and sometimes continued to molest children.
After moving to Reno in 1995, Straling transferred at least one accused priest, Robert Buchanan, from San Bernardino to Reno. A 2003 lawsuit claims Buchanan engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with a teen while working at a school in San Diego. Buchanan, who still lives in Reno, has denied the allegation.
No claims of priests abusing children have been filed against Reno priests since Straling took over, according to a diocese official. One Reno priest, the late Monsignor Robert Bowling, was accused in 11 lawsuits, 10 of which were filed against the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., of alleged abuse in the 1960s. The eleventh case involved a Reno woman who said he behaved sexually inappropriately while she was an adult. The Louisville archdiocese settled all 11 cases for $25.7 million in 2003.
Read the article at rgj.com Dated July 30, 2005
posted by God Almighty Himself at 3:49 PM
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