Records from San Francisco Archdiocese made public; SNAP appalled and calls for complete transparency
For immediate release: April 18, 2025
According to documents recently ordered released by a federal bankruptcy judge, the Independent Review Board (IRB) for the Archdiocese of San Francisco -- tasked with reviewing child sexual abuse accusations against priests -- returned more than half of the clergy to ministry, including a priest with five abuse complaints. To SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, this is absolute madness. The released IRB minutes can be found here.
We know from studies that false accusations of child sexual abuse are extremely rare, and that those who prey on children seldom stop on their own. With the exception of incarceration, the most effective way to protect today’s children from those clergymen who would harm them, and to help victims and their families heal, is to publish the names, photographs, work histories, and current locations of the accused. It is important to keep in mind that these men are not just dangerous to Catholic children, but to all boys and girls who may come, or who may have come, across their paths.
While the 2002 Dallas Charter promised that Catholic bishops would be open and transparent with this information, the Archdiocese of San Francisco has so far refused to publish a list of their accused. It is the only Catholic Diocese in California without a list.
In fact, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone reportedly long denied that his Archdiocese even kept such information. But the recently released IRB minutes apparently put the lie to that claim.
Even more disturbing are all the missing names from the IRB list. When the San Francisco Archdiocese petitioned for bankruptcy in 2023, it faced 537 lawsuits for child sexual abuse. As of 2022, just 49 priests were found on the IRB’s list, including two dozen priests that were “cleared” of abuse.
SNAP can only agree with survivor Steve Moreno, who serves on the creditors’ committee in the bankruptcy case: this is not a process in which the public should have trust. We would go even further and opine that it is not a process that protects children, but rather one that prioritizes the vocation of priests over the safety of boys and girls.
Local SNAP Leader and survivor Dan McNevin was appalled at the information contained in the released documents. He said:
With the publication of the IRB minutes, we can see that dozens of living predators are being hidden, housed, paid and protected by the San Francisco Archdiocese. A “Father K” is masquerading as a priest in good standing in Napa. A “Father W” is apparently living in New Mexico discerning a new “vocation.” In 2023, three accused priests were living in a parish in San Francisco. A priest called “JT” exhibited what appeared to be ‘grooming’ behaviors. He was shuffled out of San Francisco and his religious order was left to deal with him. What did that order do? Is he still in ministry in some other diocese? An IRB member -- tasked with assessing the danger these men presented to boys and girls -- was lobbying to allow an accused perpetrator from the Oakland Diocese to volunteer in San Francisco. How does any of this protect the children that are entrusted to the Archdiocese? Child sexual abuse creates life-long damages. This is absolute madness.
We ask parishioners and the public to join us in calling on Archbishop Cordileone to immediately publish a list of those accused of child sexual abuse in his Archdiocese, along with their photographs, work histories, and current locations. For those still living, the Archbishop should also provide information as to how, and by whom, their activities are being monitored. The safety of innocent children demands nothing less.
We also hope that the California Attorney General, who subpoenaed records from the San Francisco Archdiocese in 2019, will take another look at this information, as well as the information provided in the 537 lawsuits that have been filed. He and his staff need to think outside the box about how this information might be used to prosecute men, and women, who should be in prison, not in ministry.
Contact: Dan McNevin, SNAP Treasurer ([email protected], 415-341-6417), Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175, Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
