We, at the San Diego Catholic Diocese, are doing everything in our power to prevent the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by priests and other diocesan staff. At the same time, we are working to be as transparent as possible regarding past allegations of sexual abuse.
With sorrow and shame, we take responsibility for the actions of some of our priests who betrayed their sacred vows and committed abuse. Although the overwhelming number of these cases occurred in the 1960s through the 1980s, nothing is acceptable other than zero.
We deeply apologize to each victim for the harm inflicted on him or her, and we offer our help now and in the future.
Starting in 2002, the U.S. Catholic Church implemented programs that contributed to a dramatic drop in new allegations of abuse. No priest in the San Diego Diocese has been found to have sexually abused a minor since 2004, as determined by an independent review board.
Prevention and accountability are priorities at all levels of the Church. Pope Francis has taken multiple measures to address sexual abuse and to hold accountable bishops, religious superiors and other church leaders worldwide. The United States Conference of Bishops has taken significant steps to hold bishops accountable and established a national third-party reporting system to handle complaints against them.
This section details how our diocese is working 365 days a year to protect minors and vulnerable adults, how to report suspected abuse and how we respond to it, and a list of priests at our diocese who have been credibly accused.
We recognize that we have no greater responsibility than the protection of children and vulnerable adults entrusted to our care.
