Four priests in Hawai'i could be defrocked
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
Four Hawai'i priests suspended from religious work during the 1990s because of allegations of sexual misconduct could be removed entirely from the priesthood under new guidelines proposed by American Catholic leaders at the Vatican, Bishop Francis DiLorenzo said yesterday.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
No decisions can be made until American cardinals act on the proposals in June, said Patrick Downes, a spokesman for DiLorenzo and the Honolulu diocese.
Bishop Francis DiLorenzo said there are local cases that may be reopened.
But DiLorenzo said that it is conceivable that the four Hawai'i cases could be re-opened under the new guidelines.
DiLorenzo, who arrived in Hawai'i nine years ago, has said he ordered four priests to step down during his tenure because they were accused of sexual misconduct. In three of those cases, the priests admitted what they had done, he said. In the fourth, the evidence against the priest was strong enough to justify the action, he said.
The four were retired and prohibited from participating directly in the ministry and from assisting others.
But they were not "laicized" — ousted from the priesthood — as they could more easily be under the proposed new processes, Downes said.
Because the four remain priests, they are supported by the diocese, which pays for their medical insurance and provides them with pensions, Downes said. If they were removed entirely from the priesthood, he said, they could lose that support.
The new proposal would make the process of ousting priests easier, an extreme punishment that has to be approved by officials of the Vatican, Downes said. Practically, he said, stripping a priest of his title would do nothing more to protect the public than has already been accomplished by removing him from clerical duties.
While DiLorenzo favors the proposed reforms, Downes said, the bishop believes that scandals over the handling of cases on the Mainland arose because authorities did not use the powers they already had, not because they didn't have the power to discipline offenders.
Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.
