Abusive Priest from Louisiana Lives in Texas
An abusive priest from Louisiana now lives in Texas where he’s reportedly ‘well-liked,’ probably because few know that he is a credibly accused child molester, according to Catholic officials. We call on bishops in both states to aggressively seek out anyone else he may have hurt and to warn police, prosecutors, parents and the public about him.
A year ago, Fr. Roger Temme’s name appeared on a list of credibly accused priests released by the New Orleans Archdiocese.
“But for the past 20 years he’s been an active and well-liked figure in Austin, serving for nearly two decades as a volunteer recruiter and trainer for The Care Communities, a nonprofit that provided support for those affected by serious illnesses, including cancer and HIV,” “was named one of the grand marshals of the Austin PRIDE celebrations” and belonged to St. David’s Episcopal Church, according to USA Today.
It is irresponsible for bishops to recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train, supervise, transfer and shield predator priests, then oust them when their crimes surface and do little or nothing to alert vulnerable families, neighbors and co-workers.
Austin Bishop Joe S. Vásquez and New Orleans Archbishop Greg Aymond must do outreach. It’s not hard, expensive or controversial to do. All it takes are short announcements on church websites, in parish bulletins and from pulpits: “If you saw, suspected or suffered crimes by Fr. Temme, please call independent sources of help like police, prosecutors, therapists or support groups immediately.”
We hope every victim, witness or whistleblower with suspicions or knowledge of crimes by Fr. Temme or cover ups by his colleagues or superiors will speak up now.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for 30 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)