As Cardinal DiNardo Heads to Rome, a Houston-Area Priest is Arrested for Abuse

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, concelebrates the closing Mass at the 2017 convocation in Orlando, Fla. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

Two alleged victims fault Galveston-Houston’s archbishop for not removing the priest from ministry sooner.

Two days before Cardinal Daniel DiNardo’s planned meeting with Pope Francis to discuss clerical sex abuse in the United States, a priest of DiNardo’s Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston turned himself in to the Montgomery County Sheriff to answer four charges of indecency with a child.

Two alleged victims of Father Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, one male and one female, are accusing Cardinal DiNardo—who also serves as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops—of not doing enough to prevent the priest from abusing other children, according to the Associated Press. Father La Rosa-Lopez, who is pastor of St. John Fisher Catholic Church in Richmond, Texas and who serves as the archdiocese’s episcopal vicar for Hispanics, has denied the allegations of abuse.

According to a statement released by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, archdiocesan officials notified Child Protective Services about both accusations against Father La Rosa-Lopez, and are cooperating with law enforcement. ….continued…. https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2018/09/12/as-cardinal-dinardo-heads-to-rome-a-houston-area-priest-is-arrested-for-abuse/