Statements on Abuse Crisis

Clergy for whom allegations of sexual abuse of a minor have been admitted, substantiated or determined or considered to be credible. This list is being presented to the faithful of the Church in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston as part of an effort to bring about the restoration of trust.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston joins with the other Catholic dioceses of Texas to publish the names of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse or misconduct with minors since 1950. The list can be found on our archdiocesan website at www.archgh.org.

This morning, the District Attorney of Montgomery County executed a search warrant for records and information related to an ongoing investigation. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston continues to cooperate, as we have since the outset, with this process. In fact, consistent with Cardinal DiNardo’s pledge of full cooperation, the information being sought was already being compiled.

In 2001, a then-16 year old girl and her family notified this Archdiocese that Fr. Manuel La Rosa-Lopez had kissed and touched her inappropriately when he was assigned as Parochial Vicar at Sacred Heart in Conroe. We immediately referred this information to Children’s Protective Services for further investigation. Father La Rosa-Lopez denied touching the girl inappropriately, and the girl’s family decided not to pursue the matter, relocating out of the country that same year. After an internal review, including presentation of the above allegations to the newly founded Archdiocesan Review Board in 2003, Father La Rosa-Lopez was permitted to return to parish ministry in 2004.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has issued the following statement in response to Pope Francis’s Letter to the People of God, issued earlier today. In his letter addressed to the whole People of God, the Pope calls on the Church to join in acts of prayer and fasting in “combatting all forms of abuse of power, sexual abuse and the abuse of conscience.”