263 Catholic Priests Accused Of Sexual Misconduct: Report

PORTLAND, OR — A Minnesota-based law firm this week released a report identifying 263 Catholic priests from three diocese in California's Bay Area who have been accused of sexual misconduct, 11 of whom apparently have (or had) ties to various Catholic institutions in Oregon.

Created and published by Jeff Anderson & Associates, which specializes in childhood sex abuse cases, the report identifies clergy specifically associated with the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Diocese of Oakland, and the Diocese of San Jose.

"This report is intended to raise awareness about the important issue of clerical sexual abuse, provide the public with vital information including assignment histories, and provide awareness to survivors," Jeff Anderson & Associates explained in the report. "Assignment histories are approximations and were compiled from The Official Catholic Directory, bishopaccountability.org and media reports."

As part of its explanation for sharing the report publicly, the firm said the "vast majority" of claims against the people listed have either already been settled or not "fully evaluated in a civil court." Meaning, the allegations listed should be seen as just that: allegations, and not convictions.

Essentially, the firm wrote, "all individuals should be considered innocent until proven guilty," noting additionally that in some cases the statute of limitations has expired, preventing the allegations from ever being heard in court at all. On top of that, many of the men listed in the report are now deceased.

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Of the 263 clergy members named in the report:

• 135 are from the Archdiocese of San Francisco;
• 95 are from the Diocese of Oakland; and
• 33 are from the Diocese of San Jose.

Those clergy members with Oregon ties are:

• Fr. James E. Jacobson, S.J.

Ordained in 1959, Jacobson reportedly served at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem from 1979 to 2005 before moving north and serving in Washington at Regis Community in Spokane until 2012.

The firm notes:

A 2005 lawsuit alleged that Fr. James Jacobson sexually assaulted and impregnated two women in different Western Alaska villages, one in 1965 and the other in 1975. According to DNA testing, there is greater than a 99 percent chance he is the father of the two children. The lawsuit was settled in March 2007. Claims against Fr. Jacobson were also included in a 2007 settlement between the Society of Jesus (a.k.a. the Jesuits) and multiple survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Additionally, according to bankruptcy reorganization documents filed by the Diocese of Fairbanks in 2010, there have been at least two other claims of abuse implicating Fr. Jacobson.

The firm has no record of Jacobson's whereabouts since 2013.

• Fr. Tarcisio D. Lanuevo

Ordained in 1956, Lanuevo served at a U.S. Veterans Domiciliary in White City between 1992 and 1993. His whereabouts since are unknown.

The firm notes:

Fr. Tarcisio Lanuevo was accused of sexually abusing two girls at St. John the Baptist in San Lorenzo in 1979. The two girls filed a civil lawsuit, naming Fr. Lanuevo, in 1993. The victims claimed the reason they dropped the criminal charges in 1979 was because the Diocese promised that Fr. Lanuevo would receive treatment and would never again have access to children. Fr. Lanuevo allegedly sexually abused minors at St. Joachim in Hayward. Fr. Lanuevo remained working in the Oakland diocese until 1991. In 1993, Fr. Lanuevo was working at a VA Domiciliary in Oregon (for) the Portland diocese. Fr. Lanuevo’s current whereabouts, his status as a priest, and whether he has access to children are unknown.

• Fr. James P. McSorley, O.M.I.

Ordained in 1946, McSorley served at St. Alice in Springfield between 1964 and 1965. He died in May 2005. The firm had no notes on this individual.

• Br. John Moriarty, F.S.C.

Ordained in 1951, Moriarty's service in Oregon is apparently unclear. However, the firm believes Moriarty died in 2013.

The firm notes:

Br. John Moriarty became a member of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De la Salle Christian Brothers) in 1951. At least one survivor has alleged child sexual abuse by Br. Moriarty, from approximately 1975 to 1976, while he worked at St. Helena’s retreat house. It is reported that he worked in California, Oregon, and East Africa throughout his career.
Br. Moriarty has been named in at least one civil lawsuit. In 2005, it was reported that he was living at the Wounded Brothers Project in Missouri, a treatment center for troubled clergy. As of 2008, it was reported that he had been living at Monte La Salle in Napa, California. It is believed Fr. Moriarty died in 2013. From 1993 to his death in 2013, Br. Moriarty’s whereabouts and whether he had access to children are unknown.

• Fr. Edmund K. Ryan, O.P.

Ordained in 1965, Ryan served at the University of Oregon between 1981 and 1982 before moving on to the Holy Rosary in Portland from 1983 to 1990. Ryan left Oregon briefly before returning to serve at the Star of the Sea Church in Brookings from 1994 to 2002. Ryan's whereabouts since 2003 are unknown.

The firm notes:

Fr. Ryan was prohibited from public ministry in 2005 after the Dominican religious order found a sexual abuse allegation against him in Oregon to be credible. Fr. Ryan’s current status as a priest, his whereabouts, and whether he has access to children are unknown.

• Fr. Leo Donald Tubbs, O.P.

Ordained in 1966, Tubbs' alleged misconduct seems to have occurred during his brief time serving at St. Benedict’s Lodge in McKenzie Bridge in 1992.

The firm notes:

Fr. Donald Tubbs worked predominantly in Catholic schools for over three decades, after which he was moved to Oregon before being confined to a Dominican Order property in California. After his brief stay in Oregon, allegations were made that while there, Fr. Tubbs had “inappropriate contact with adult males” and “non-genital touching over clothing” with a 15-year-old. Afterwards, Fr. Edward Krasevac said Fr. Tubbs “had problems keeping his hands to himself.”
In 2004, Fr. Tubbs took an unauthorized trip alone to Bangkok to purportedly visit a friend. After this trip, Fr. Tubbs was put on “lockdown” within the Siena House in Oakland and had to be accompanied anytime he left the property. Fr. Tubbs was one of seven sex offenders living on a Dominican property in Oakland in 2004. The community was never made aware that the property was housing sex offenders. Fr. Tubbs’ current whereabouts, his status as a priest and whether he has access to children are unknown.

• Fr. Robert M. Van Handel, O.F.M.

Ordained in 1975, Van Handel's only tie to Oregon is that he may currently live in Gresham. His definitive whereabouts, however, are unknown.

The firm notes:

Fr. Robert Van Handel was a Franciscan priest. He started a boys’ choir in Berkeley, California and later moved to Santa Barbara, California, where he taught at St. Anthony’s Seminary High School and founded the Santa Barbara Boys’ Choir. At these locations, Fr. Van Handel allegedly abused at least 25 boys from 1975 to 1992, including his own nephew.
Fr. Van Handel himself was allegedly sexually abused as a student at St. Anthony’s in the 1960s. The first allegation of child sexual abuse against Fr. Van Handel came in 1992 and resulted in Fr. Van Handel being removed from active ministry and sent to treatment at St. Luke Institute, an institution known for treating priests accused of child sexual abuse.
In 1994, Fr. Van Handel was criminally charged with abuse of students and sentenced to eight years in prison. He only served four years in prison and was on parole for four years. After his release in 1998, he moved to Santa Cruz, California, his last known location, where he is a registered sex offender. He was laicized in 1997. Fr. Van Handel was included in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ list of priests accused of sexual misconduct involving minors.
As of 2013, Fr. Van Handel was believed to be residing in Gresham, Oregon. His current whereabouts and whether he has access to children are unknown.

• Fr. Francis W. Callan, S.J.

Ordained in 1946, Callan served at St. Mary’s in Pendleton from 1957 to 1958, St. Mary’s in Shaw from 1969 to 1970, and the Oregon State Hospital in Salem from 1973 until his death in 1991.

The firm had no notes on this individual.

• Fr. Francis J. Ford, O.F.M.

Ordained in 1951, Ford served at Ascension in Portland from 1963 to 1964, and at St. Luke’s in Woodburn from 1967 to 1968. Ford died in 1985.

The firm had no notes on this individual.

• Fr. Melvin (Mel) Bucher, O.F.M.

Ordained in 1961, Bucher has a long history of service in Oregon, beginning at St. Francis Seminary in Troutdale from 1963 to 1964. After his time in Troutdale, Bucher went to Serra Catholic High School in Salem from 1964 to 1968 before moving again to St. Anthony’s in Tigard from 1968 to 1970.

In 1988 Bucher returned to St. Anthony's and served until 1994. He reportedly retired in 2006.

The firm notes:

Fr. Melvin Bucher was a Franciscan friar who worked in California, Oregon, and Washington. Multiple survivors have come forward alleging child sexual abuse by Fr. Bucher while he worked in various parishes on the west coast during the 1970s.
In 1993, Fr. Bucher failed a lie detector test regarding having sex with minors and Fr. Bucher has reportedly admitted to sexually abusing minors in the 1960s. In 1994, Fr. Bucher was named in a lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse while he worked at St. Anthony’s in Tigard. The lawsuit did not settle until right before trial in 2001, during which Fr. Bucher was allowed to remain at his post.
Fr. Bucher has been named in multiple civil lawsuits. It is reported that in 1994 he left the Archdiocese of Portland and was living in Mission San Luis Rey Retreat Center in Oceanside in 1995. Fr. Bucher’s current whereabouts, his status as a priest, and whether he has access to children are unknown.

• Fr. Philip Steigerwald

Ordained in 1976, Steigerwald began his service in 1977 at Queen of Peace Church in Salem. In 1978 he moved to Eugene to serve at St. Paul Church until 1980. He then served one year (1981) at Sacred Heart General Hospital.

Steigerwald died in 1992.

The firm notes:

Fr. Philip Steigerwald has been named in at least one civil lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse. In 2002, a man alleged that he was abused by Fr. Steigerwald in 1978. The lawsuit claimed that the Church knew of the risk Fr. Steigerwald posed to young boys because they had previously been informed of his inappropriate conduct with a young boy before he was ordained while he was at Queen of Peace in Salem. It is believed that he worked at St. Raymond, in Dublin, California at some point during his career as a priest.

Click here to view the full report

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