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This undated photo provided by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office shows Father Manuel LaRosa-Lopez. LaRosa-Lopez was arrested on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2018 by police in Conroe, Texas, and charged with petting two teenagers while they were teens. He was a priest at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe. He is accused of four counts of indecency towards a child. (Montgomery County Sheriff's Office via AP)
HOUSTON – As American Catholic leaders going to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis about a growing crisis of violence in churches, two cardinals accuse the cardinal of the delegation of not doing enough to arrest a priest arrested
The two people told The Associated Press that they had denounced the priest and met with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. One of them said that he had been promised at a meeting with DiNardo, several years after reporting the first abuses, that the priest would be deprived of any contact with his children. .
Priest Manuel LaRosa-Lopez was arrested Tuesday by police in Conroe, Texas. The two people who spoke to the PA cooperate with the police.
LaRosa-Lopez, 60, is accused of fondling the two teenagers as a teenager at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe. He is accused of four counts of indecency towards a child. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.
LaRosa-Lopez is now the pastor of the St. John Fisher Catholic Church in Richmond. He is also the Episcopal Vicar of the Archdiocese for Hispanics.
The archdiocese issued Wednesday a statement confirming that the two people had demonstrated to report the abuses committed by LaRosa-Lopez, one of them in 2001. The archdiocese said he reported both allegations to the state child protection services. Allegations of Improper Conduct Involving Minors "Against the Priest A CPS spokesperson Wednesday could not immediately confirm whether the reports had been made.LaRosa-Lopez did not immediately return a phone message left Wednesday.
"For anyone affected by any form of violence by anyone representing the church, the archdiocese deeply regrets this fundamental breach of trust and pledges to eliminate these unacceptable actions," said the spokesman. ;archdiocese.
In addition to his responsibilities in Houston, DiNardo is head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, a position that has made him a leading figure in the Church's response to a new wave of leadership attacks. Catholics. He meets Pope Francis Thursday at the Vatican.
The two accusers who say they went to DiNardo are now in their thirties. Associated Press generally does not identify victims in cases of sexual abuse and both people requested that their name be withheld.
One of them was airlifted from the West Coast Church to Houston to meet with DiNardo and the Victim Assistance Coordinator of the Archdiocese. They met in the archdiocese on the afternoon of August 10th.
After leaving the meeting, he quickly noted the meeting notes and shared a copy of the notes with AP.
"Cardinal seemed disdainful of the situation," the notes read. He also wrote what he says is a quote from DiNardo: "You should have told us earlier."
"It was a disdainful tone," he recalled. "Deep in my head, I was thinking about his comment, I was so angry afterwards."
Both said they were convinced that their cases would be too old to be prosecuted under the statutes of limitations. But the Texas legislature in 2007 lifted the statute of limitations for indecency with a child. Montgomery County attorneys say the change means their business remains eligible for prosecution now.
The group of survivors of the Trafficking Victims Group, or SNAP, has asked Texas Attorney General to investigate the Archdiocese of Houston and others to find out if they have concealed sexual abuse in their ranks.
"DiNardo needs to know what he knows," said SNAP member Michael Norris.
The two victims claimed to be teenagers when LaRosa-Lopez tried to bond them for a while before initiating physical contact.
The victim stated that he was interested, as a teenager, in joining the clergy and attending the seminary. He started attending mass and knew LaRosa-Lopez. Finally, he found a job where he worked as an assistant at Sacred Heart.
He remembered that LaRosa-Lopez was known as "delicate" and that the priest's contact with him became more physical over time: he first touched his arm, then hugged him, then kissed his cheek. .
One night, he said, the priest showed him pictures of young seminarians with whom he "amused himself a lot" and tried to remove the teenager's clothes and put his hands on his pants. He stepped back and quickly left the residence. He said he reported the incident to ecclesiastical authorities last year. The archdiocese said on Wednesday that it had been "officially presented" with the allegation in August.
The accusing woman stated that LaRosa-Lopez befriended her during her weekly confessions to Sacred Heart. "He was essentially my only friend," she said.
The victim refused to detail what LaRosa-Lopez had done, saying only that she had inappropriately touched her shortly before Easter, after turning 16 years old.
She says her father discovered what had happened and the family reported it to the church. Church officials told him that LaRosa-Lopez would be moved.
The archdiocese confirmed Wednesday that LaRosa-Lopez was reassigned in 2001 to another church, St. Francis de Sales, and then moved in 2004 to St. John Fisher, his current position. This would not confirm that he was moved because of a complaint for abuse.
She finally went back to her church with LaRosa-Lopez transferred to a new place.
But in 2010, she saw a copy of the archdiocese's internal newsletter, which announced the appointment of LaRosa-Lopez as vicar of Hispanic ministry. She thought that there was a chance that DiNardo was not aware of his complaint as it was prior to his stay in Houston.
She contacted the church and began meeting a therapist paid for by the archdiocese. Finally, she met DiNardo and other clergy of the diocese. She says that they told her that after her warning, LaRosa-Lopez was sent to the hospital for psychiatric treatment twice and that she would no longer be allowed to work with children.
Then LaRosa-Lopez was brought in for about 10 minutes, she confronted him about the violence and apologized.
She later said she discovered that LaRosa-Lopez had stayed at St. John Fisher, in the presence of children.
From DiNardo, the woman said, "I'm tired of all his empty words."
"If he goes to meet the pope and pretend that everything is fine and that his diocese is clean, I can not stand it," she said. "I can not be quiet."
The Associated Press asked Tuesday to interview DiNardo and other leaders of the archdiocese. He also submitted a list of questions on the allegations of both victims.
A spokesman for the archdiocese refused requests for interviews or made specific allegations about what DiNardo told the victims.
LaRosa-Lopez was not present at Mass at St. John Fisher on Saturday night or Sunday. A journalist who visited the two days saw that a parking space, marked by a sign reserving space for "Father Manuel", was empty.
Sunday morning, the parishioners learned that LaRosa-Lopez was "retired".
