Somehow, activism became my day job

Tag: Bishop Robert Brom

  • BREAKING: Sex Offending San Diego Priest Vanishes

    Fr. Jose Alexis Davila, the Venezuelan national, San Diego priest, and misdemeanor sex offender, has vanished.

    There has been no comment or statement from Diocese of San Diego, who just a few months ago, said that the “sex-probation priest” was “fit for ministry.”

    This past New Year’s Eve, Davila, the associate pastor of St. Jude Shrine of the West, went to a young woman’s Southcrest home and forced himself on her. She called the police and he was arrested.

    Parishioners and the priest’s friends rallied on behalf of the priest. In fact, parishioners supporting the priest formed a “lynch mob” at the victim’s mother’s home, in the hopes of forcing the victim to recant her story. It didn’t work.

    In April, Davila pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of “unlawful touching of an intimate part” and was sentenced to probation. 

    In May (less than one month after his guilty plea), I received an anonymous call from a parishioner at St. Jude Shrine of the West. The caller was disgusted that Davila was back on the job and working with women and children. When the Diocese was asked why the priest was put back in the parish, here is what Bishop Robert Brom, through his Chancellor Rodrigo Valdivia, said:

    The Diocese of San Diego and Father Alexis Davila have fully cooperated with law enforcement and all legitimate and pastoral concerns have been addressed as regards his case.

    Consequently, we have no reason to believe that women or children are at risk because of his return to ministry. He returned to St. Jude at the beginning of May.

    Pastoral concerns? The priest wouldn’t even pass a background check.

    And now? He’s gone. The Diocese has made no announcement about Davila’s absence. We don’t know if he’s a priest, if he’s around children, or if he’s even in the country. The diocese has dumped him somewhere, and no one knows where.

    The only clues we have are in Davila’s self-congratulatory YouTube Channel, where he paints himself as a rock star and posts videos of himself with men like Salt Lake City Bishop Charles Wester, Pope John Paul II and lots of young women. He also claims to have been scuttled out of his country by “security personnel” in 2002.

    Bishop Robert Brom owes San Diego some answers.

     

  • San Diego and the Lynch Mob Mentality

    From the latest in San Diego—where a modern-day lynch mob has started to intimidate victims and their family members—click here

  • NEWS: Abuse victims to bishop: ‘Stop the lynch mob’

    NEWS: Abuse victims to bishop: ‘Stop the lynch mob’

    Parishioners are confronting, intimidating family members of potential abuse victim

    Hurt and confused Catholics are giving predators a “free pass,” SNAP says

    You must help create a victim-safe environment in your churches, they demand

    In response to what they are calling a “modern day lynch mob,” victims of sexual abuse are begging the San Diego bishops to educate parishioners on how respond appropriately when priests are accused of molesting kids.

    Today, leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNnetwork.org), are asking San Diego Bishop Robert Brom and the newly appointed co-adjudicator Bishop Cirilo Flores (who will assume Brom’s position when Brom retires next year) to reach out to parishioners at St. Joseph Catholic Church in downtown, some of whom have confronted and threatened family members of a young woman who accused a priest of sexual abuse.

    The priest, Fr. Jose Davila, also know as “Fr. Alexis,” has admitted “something taking place” with the 20-year-old woman and has turned himself in to police. http://www.10news.com/news/30138281/detail.html

    In response to the news, some members of the parish confronted the brother of the victim, after the victim’s mother did not show up for her usual prayer group.  In press reports, the parishioners claim that they were going to “demand the truth” from the mother for “damaging the priest’s reputation.”

    Leaders of SNAP were horrified to learn of the news. “It is terribly difficult for any victim of abuse to come forward,” said Joelle Casteix, SNAP Western Regional Director. “But when parishioners begin to form mobs and intimidate family members, ALL victims of sexual abuse, no matter the perpetrator, will be scared and shamed into silence.  By hurting this woman and her family, parishioners are giving ALL predators a free pass.”

    SNAP is also sending Brom the link to an online brochure, “What To Do If Your Priest Is Accused of Abuse,” that educates Catholics about what the group calls “safe, helpful and compassionate ways that people can support their priest.”

    “Your parishioners are suffering.  Because they are hurt and confused, they are lashing out … As best we can tell, not a single bishop on the planet has taught his flock about the compassionate and helpful ways to act when a priest is accused of molesting a child,” SNAP’s letter says.  “We hope you’ll be the first.”

    The letter also asks that the bishops personally visit the parish and “make a public announcement that the harassment and intimidation of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers will not be tolerated in the Diocese of San Diego.”

    A copy of the letter is below.  The brochure can be accessed at http://www.snapnetwork.org/links_homepage/when_priest_accused.htm

    Contact:

    Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, CA, SNAP Western Regional Director jcasteix@gmail.com 949-322-7434

    Barb Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Director SNAPdorris@gmail.com 314-503-0003

    David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP National Director SNAPclohessy@aol.com 314-566-9790

    *************************

    SNAP – The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
    P.O. Box 6416
    Chicago, IL 60680
    SNAPNetwork.org

    January 5, 2011

    Most Reverend Robert Brom
    Most Reverend Cirilo Flores, co-adjudicator
    Diocese of San Diego
    3888 Paducah Drive
    San Diego, CA 92117
    858-490-8272 fax

    Dear Bishop Brom and Bishop Flores,

    We are victims of sexual abuse who are members of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPNetwork.org), the nation’s largest support group for men and women who were sexually abused in religious or institutional settings.  We are writing you today to alert you a serious problem at St. Joseph’s in downtown San Diego that requires your immediate attention.

    As you may know, Fr. Jose Davila has admitted to potential wrongdoing with a 20-year-old parishioner and has turned himself into the police. But what is even more disturbing is that a few of the parishioners at the parish have begun to confront and harass the victim’s family members, calling the victim names, intimidating the family members and scaring them into silence.

    This is dangerous behavior. Not only are they causing a great amount of personal pain to an already hurt victim and her family, but they are also scaring ALL victims of sexual abuse into silence, no matter the perpetrator.  No victim of abuse will ever feel safe coming forward to report if they know they will be greeted by a lynch mob.

    Your parishioners are suffering.  Because they are hurt and confused, they are lashing out. Instead of engaging in stall tactics and telling Catholics half-truths, now is the time to come clean, support victims and allow everyone to heal.  Keeping your flock in the dark and allowing them to attack victims helps no one. Entire communities are destroyed when someone is sexually abused by a person in a position of trust.  Now is the time for you to do the right thing.

    If you genuinely want to prevent abuse and help victims, you should do all you can to create a more “victim-friendly” environment, which encourages – not discourages – the reporting of child sex crimes.

    Despite hundreds of self-serving policies, programs, procedures and panels (and other public relations gestures) as best we can tell, not a single bishop on the planet has made an effort to teach his flock about the compassionate and helpful ways to act when a priest is accused of molesting a child. We hope you’ll be the first.

    In light of this, we ask the following:

    – Distribute the online brochure “What To Do When Your Priest is Accused of Abuse” to every parish in the diocese, including the lay leadership of St. Joseph,

    – Personally visit the parish and reach out to potential victims and hurting Catholics, and

    – Make a public announcement that the harassment and intimidation of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers will not be tolerated in the Diocese of San Diego.

    We look forward to your immediate response and action in this matter.  The online brochure may be found at http://www.snapnetwork.org/links_homepage/when_priest_accused.htm and is attached at the bottom of this message.

     

    Sincerely,

    Joelle Casteix of Newport Beach, CA, SNAP Western Regional Director SNAPCasteix@gmail.com 949-322-7434

    Barb Dorris of St. Louis, SNAP Outreach Director SNAPdorris@gmail.com 314-503-0003