That was not the headline I was expecting to write in 2025. But alas, here I am.
Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the head of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, is one of only a handful of US bishops who has refused to release any lists of credibly accused priests.
Since the 2018 Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report into sexual abuse in the five Catholic dioceses across that state, bishops nationwide realized that publishing lists was a good PR move and a way to show “baby steps” towards transparency.
But not San Francisco. Oh noooooo …
In fact, even after the Archdiocese decided to hide behind Chapter 11 bankruptcy (in light of approximately 500 child sexual abuse and cover-up civil cases), Cordileone remained tight fisted with his credibly accused list. And he has one … he’s said so.
Now we know why he’s keeping it secret:
According to a press event and news stories today, Archbishop Cordileone kept at least two long-time known predators in ministry until LAST YEAR.
The priests:
In 2003, Danielle Louise Lacampaghe filed a civil lawsuit against Carter and the Archdiocese of San Francisco for the child sexual abuse that Lacampaghe endured at the hands of Carter. The Archdiocese, then under the leadership of Cardinal William Levada, put Carter on temporary leave, pending an investigation by the lay review board.
The board, not having spoken to Lacampaghe, found her account “not credible.” They put Carter back into ministry, despite the AD settling Lacampaghe’s civil suit in 2005.
That didn’t stop Lacampaghe. She continued try and meet with AD officials to have Carter removed. To no avail.
In 2019, when California passed AB 218, which again opened the statute of limitations for survivors of child sexual abuse, SIX MORE Carter survivors came forward and filed civil lawsuits.
And guess who remains a priest in good standing?
Seven survivors. I’d bet good money that the Lay Review Board knows nothing about them.
Carter is currently listed as retired. But chances are he’s living in public, saying masses, and hiding in plain sight.
In 1990, Sandra Marie Oldfield went to the Archdiocese of San Francisco to report that Fr. Lawrence J. Finnegan has sexually assaulted her.
She received no response from the Archdiocese.
Then in 2002, she reported the sexual assault to law enforcement. The Fairfax Police Department set up a “sting call,” where Oldfield was able to elicit a recorded confession from Finnegan.
She received no reponse from the Archdiocese.
When AB 218 passed into law, Oldfield filed a civil lawsuit against Finnegan and the Archdiocese. But it wasn’t until 2024 that a lawyer for the Archdiocese reached out to her and asked that she be interviewed by the lay review board … more than 30 years after her initial complaint.
According to reports, only then Finnegan was quietly removed from active ministry. No announcement. No warning to parishioners. No transparency.
What about the Lay Review Board?
I’ve been writing about these boards for decades. (Yikes, I am an old-timer). The boards are populated with good, well-meaning people who want to stop abuse and cover-up.
I was one of them – I was a survivor who wanted to make a change.
But there is a problem: the boards are kept in the dark (and possibly open to liability) by the bishops. That’s why I know many more “former board members” than I can count.
I was used as a patsy, so that’s why I and dozens of others have publicly stepped down from these boards and said: No More.
NOTE: There are still amazing people on these boards, fighting for truth, and I applaud them. (I also encourage them to reach out to me confidentially)
Hopefully, truth and transparency will win.
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