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The Catholic Diocese of San Jose released on Oct. 18 a list of 15 priests, most of whom have died or been banned from the ministry, who it says were “credibly accused” of sexually abusing children.
One of the priests on the list, Philip McCrillis, was alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with children while at St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park and St. Albert the Great Parish in Palo Alto between 1968 and 1969.
According to the list, McCrillis was assigned to work at the St. Albert parish from 1966 to 1969, St. Anthony Parish in Menlo Park in 1969, and St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park from 1969 to 1972, before later assignments in San Jose and Los Altos. The allegations against him were first made in 2004, and he was permanently banned from ministry that year. He died in 2007.
Several others on the list had assignments in nearby parishes, most many years ago. They include:
● Arthur Harrison, who was assigned at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Palo Alto from 1956 to 1960. Allegations made against him were regarding subsequent assignments in San Jose and Novato.
● Alexander Larkin, who was assigned at St. Pius X Parish in Redwood City from 1968 to 1974, at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Palo Alto from 1974 to 1981, at Stanford University Newman Center in 1987, and at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish from 1987 to 1992. Allegations of sexual misconduct with children during his time at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in the 1970s were made in 2003. He was put on “restricted” ministry in 2005 and permanently banned from ministry in 2009.
● George Moss, who was assigned at St. Joseph Parish in Mountain View from 1963 to 1976. Allegations of sexual misconduct there were reported in 2002, 2004 and 2012. He retired in 1976 and died in 1986.
● Leonel Noia, who was assigned at St. Joseph Parish in Mountain View in 1975. Allegations against him involved a previous assignment at St. Patrick Parish in San Jose. He was convicted of the allegations in 1976. After incarceration until 1978, he went on to assignments in San Jose, and was permanently banned from ministry in 2002. He died in 2005.
● Joseph Pritchard, who was assigned at the Serra High School for Boys in San Mateo from 1956 to 1970. Allegations were made against him in 2003 and 2004 regarding a later assignment at St. Martin of Tours Parish in San Jose. He died in 1988.
● Hernan Toro, who was assigned at St. Athanasius Parish in Mountain View from 1983 to 1984 and St. Aloysius Parish in Palo Alto from 1986 to 1988. He had previously been convicted of allegations from an assignment at the Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Alviso and was a registered sex offender. He was permanently banned from ministry in 1990.
The list does not go into detail about the nature of the crimes reported, which date back to 1961 in some cases, but it does list all known locations where the named priest worked during his career with the Catholic Church.
It also contains the years in which crimes by specific priests were first reported, some of which were as late as 2006; and when that priest died, was banned from ministry, or was placed on “restricted ministry,” which means he was reassigned to administrative duties and allowed to participate in Mass only with permission from the bishop and under supervision.
Several of the priests are still alive, and the list includes information of their current whereabouts.
Rev. Don Flickinger, who was first reported in 2002 and permanently banned from the ministry in 2006, is said to be in the vicinity of the Diocese of Fresno.
Robert Gray, who was reported and convicted in 1993, then permanently banned in 2002, is said to be in the Sunnyvale area.
Alexander Larkin, who was first reported in 2003 and permanently banned in 2009, is said to reside in the San Jose area, as is Phil Sunseri, who was first reported in 1987 and permanently banned in 1988.
Hernan Toro, who was reported, convicted and forced to register as a sex offender in 1983, is said to currently reside in the San Leandro area.
The list, which includes names of priests only if the accusations against them were “determined to be credible,” may be incomplete, however. That term covers only those who admitted to the offense, were convicted in criminal court, or deemed as such by the Independent Diocesan Review Board (or) Sensitive Incident Team.
The diocese says that additional names may be added to its list once the priest in question meets the criteria noted above.
Joey Piscitelli, Northern California leader for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, provided a list of six priests whose names do not appear on the diocese’s list. He also suspects there may be additional priests who have yet to be named and may still be working in ministry.
“It sounds way short,” Piscitelli said. “I’m sure there’s a lot more.”
“The dioceses never give a complete list,” he added.
Piscitelli argued that the diocese may be offering up an abbreviated list of accused priests in an attempt to “beat the government investigators to the punch” if they launch a major criminal investigation.
He’s also argued that this effort at transparency may be an effort to stem the loss of parishioners who may leave the church as a result of recent headlines.
Kate Bradshaw contributed to this report.
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Just proof that there is no God.
And proof we believe men but not women..
@Proof, you are so right. I (obviously) did not think of it from that angle.
Thanks for pointing that out.