Suspended priest Jack Spaulding twice harbored at a Mesa church another priest who was accused of sexual misconduct and inciting violence at a mission for the poor in Mexico, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix confirmed to the Tribune this week.
The diocese said Spaulding had allowed the Rev. Loren Riebe to stay at the St. Timothy’s Catholic Community rectory in June 2009 and May of this year — even after the diocese warned him not to take in the priest who garnered national attention in 1995 when he was deported from Mexico amidst allegations that he had molested teenage boys.
Spaulding could not be reached for comment this week, but his attorney, Don Wilkinson, said, “I’m sure if he (Spaulding) would’ve been warned (not to take in Riebe), he wouldn’t have done it. Frankly, it sounds a little hard to believe he would’ve done it after he was told not to.”
It wouldn’t be the first time, though, that Spaulding has been accused of giving shelter to a suspended priest facing allegations of sexual abuse. In 1993 while pastor of Scottsdale’s St. Maria Goretti Church, Spaulding took in the Rev. Michael Harris of California, according to the Diocese of Orange in California.
Spaulding, 67, resigned as pastor of St. Tim’s on June 20, four days before he was placed on administrative leave by the Phoenix diocese after being accused himself of sexually abusing a teenage boy more than 25 years ago.
The diocese will refer Spaulding’s case to the Holy See this month, according to Rob DeFrancesco, a spokesman for the Phoenix diocese. The Holy See is a governmental board for the Vatican in Rome that will ultimately decide whether Spaulding will be removed from the priesthood in the months ahead.
In the meantime, Spaulding has been banned from being on the property of St. Tim’s and from attending Mass pending the outcome of the investigation.
Riebe’s whereabouts are unknown. His problems in Mexico during his mission work under the San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, were not the first time he was accused of misconduct. Riebe was also accused of sexual misconduct with teenage boys in California during the 1970s, as well as issues involving alcohol and substance abuse amid allegations that he had inappropriate sexual conduct with women, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
In October 2008, Riebe was among 14 clergy members accused of wrongdoing while working within the Los Angeles archdiocese. He was classified as an extern, meaning that although he was working with the archdiocese, he was under the jurisdiction of another diocese, according to the Los Angeles archdiocese.
About that time, officials at the Los Angeles archdiocese informed the Phoenix diocese that they suspected Riebe was living at St. Tim’s in Mesa. Riebe had frequently visited Arizona, and often made presentations at Valley churches in an effort to raise money for his mission.
That information caused the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to send out a national alert in a community notification statement about Riebe at the request of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The notification said: “The Diocese of Phoenix has a record of Fr. Riebe receiving faculties to administer sacraments in the Diocese in July of 1996 when he was staying at St. Maria Goretti Parish, Scottsdale. His faculties expired in October of 1997 when he left the Diocese. Since 1997, he has returned to Arizona to operate a foundation known as Mission Teaching Foundation, and he has presented mission appeals at various parishes including St. Maria Goretti, Scottsdale; St. Thomas the Apostle, Phoenix; St. Gabriel, Cave Creek; St. Timothy, Mesa; St. Helen, Glendale; and Holy Cross, Mesa.”
Spaulding served at four of those churches: St. Maria Goretti, St. Thomas, St. Helen and St. Timothy.
The notification also said, “The USCCB has advised all bishops of the country that Fr. Loren Riebe, an excardinated priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, is currently incardinated in the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. The concern is that Fr. Riebe may have continuing contacts throughout the country in connection with fundraising activities for projects in Mexico and Guatemala. If you become aware of Fr. Riebe or his activities please notify the Chancellor.”
In statements to the Tribune this week, the Phoenix diocese said it became aware that Riebe had stayed at St. Tim’s for some time prior to May of 2008 and had even assisted at some Masses during that time.
That’s when Spaulding was first warned by Phoenix diocese officials that Riebe could not live at the rectory. But the diocese stated that Riebe did return in June of 2009 and again in May of 2011 for brief periods of time.
“On both occasions, Diocesan officials contacted Fr. Spaulding to remind him that Fr. Riebe was not permitted in the rectory or on the parish campus and demanded that he be asked to leave,” the Phoenix diocese said in a statement. “On both occasions, Fr. Riebe immediately left.”
The diocese does not believe Riebe was involved in any Masses or sacraments at St. Tim’s in 2009 or 2011.
But his return on both occasions triggered a stream of phone calls and complaints to the diocese from irate St. Tim’s parishioners reporting that Riebe was back, according to Jean Sokol, former director for the Office of Child and Youth Protection.
Sokol, who worked for the Phoenix diocese during the time Riebe was seen at the St. Tim’s rectory, said she left the diocese a little more than a year ago to enter private practice for social work and counseling in a personal career choice, according to her and the diocese.
She also said she attended a heated town hall meeting at St. Tim’s in June when the suspension of Spaulding was announced and an attorney for the Phoenix diocese read a timeline of the allegations leading up to Spaulding’s suspension.
“I asked for a copy of the timeline of the accusations, but they wouldn’t give it to me because they said I no longer was an employee of the diocese,” Sokol said. “I wish I would’ve taken a tape recorder to that meeting.”
• Contact writer: (480) 898-6533 or msakal@evtrib.com
BrnAngel999 posted at 7:13 pm on Wed, Jul 11, 2012.
This is the sloppiest so-called reporting I have ever read -- in particular the part that describes Loren Riebe as "the priest who garnered national attention in 1995 when he was deported from Mexico amidst allegations that he had molested teenage boys." This is 100% FALSE. I have both read AND reported on this particular situation, and this priest was deported from Chiapas, Mexico in 1995 along with 2 other foreign-born priest for allegedly encouraging Zapatista rebels in the region (http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/25/world/mexico-deports-3-priests-saying-they-incited-trouble-in-south.html). I do NOT know if he ever engaged in misconduct in Los Angeles during the 1970s -- if so, that would be horrific, heinous -- but I do want to read the FACTS, not sloppy, mixed-up reporting.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 1:50 pm on Fri, Sep 23, 2011.
So sad to hear these stories of pedeophile priests being "squirreled away" in out of the way Parishes. In Los Angeles and other Southern California Parishes...these pedeophile priests were "squirreled away" in Mexican-American and Black Parishes where the Chancelery (the Cardinal's Office) thought that the parishioners were to unsophisticated, unworldly and most sadly too "reverent in their cultural belief in the inherent Godly-ness of the Priesthood" to discover these child molesters in their Parishes.
Don't tell me that Local ...City Attorneys, County Attorney, State Attorney Generals and Law Enforcement did not know what was going on.
11,000 child abuse allegations have been brought against 5,000 Roman Catholic Priests across America in just the period of 1950-2002.
glorybe1929 posted at 11:07 am on Fri, Sep 23, 2011.
We lived in Az. for 38 yrs. Our parish was St Maria Goretti in the 70's through the 90's. Fr. Jack was our Pastor. We knew him well. Loved him to be exact.
We were so shocked to hear these tales but know they must be true, as we remember things....Fr. Loren as we called him ,used to come from Chiapas, Mex. quite often and stay at the rectory and give heart wrenching stories about the children, at mass, so we could adopt a child from his orphanage. Pictures of the children were all set out in the hall so we could pick our child. to donate once a month to.
When we heard that he had molested these poor children in Chiapas, Mex. that he said were such harship cases, it made us want to throw up. How on earth could a priest do such a thing. Not difficult. Who would believe a waif over a priest.?
We are no longer Roman Catholics!! Luckily we found the Holy Spirit while we were still in the church, so we still have our faith in our LordJesus Christ, rather than an evil institution.
By the way....when Bishop Thomas O'Brien was caught after "a hit and run killing" of an Indian,(that he denied) he was so nervous the police would find something out about him that (along with our other Bishop Rausch,who is dead now and was a pedophile andO'Brien was his secretary and Spaulding was O'Briens secretary) he(O'Brien) told the Az. Republic everyname of every credibly accused sexual pedophile priest in the diocease.
We had at St. Maria Goretti,(not all at the same time) 5 pedophile priests that we knew and loved, except one who was questionable, sent from Boston by Card. Law to Bp. O'Brien. to hide out in a warm climate. this priest had raped a 16 yr old boy & needed to get out of town...O'Brien said "send him on.' (It's ALL in a deposition on line) What a shock. This was after we left in 2001.So it was confirmation(not that we needed it ) but nice to know the Lord has your ear and you're hearing HIM.
I have been blogging against the RCC for over ten years and they should be taken to the International Criminal Court in the Hague and found guilty of Crimes Against Humanity.
This is all over the Roman Catholic world. The weakest of the weak, handicapped and marginalized have been Spiritually Murdered...since the beginning of this Faux church, when St. Paul warned the new believers about those trying to teach a gospel other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Do not listen to them he warned. You get a "man made church" if you listen to them.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 4:01 pm on Thu, Sep 22, 2011.
How did the Diocese know of these reports???
When did the Diocese know of these reports???
What exactly did the Diocese know from these reports???
More Importantly.........what did the Bishop of Phoenix do the moment he became aware of these reports???
I see the same pattern of deception by the Diocese of Phoenix that I saw for decades in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Diocese of Orange County, the Diocese of San Diego.
It is time...it is way past time... for a United States Special Prosecutor to investigate the Catholic Church in America.
Why do we see Child Porn Rings being busted and the ringleaders being sent to prision for decades and not one Roman Catholic Bishop, Archbishop or Cardinal has even be put on trial ???
Politics is the reason. The Catholic Vote is even more powerful than the Jewish Vote. From the President on down to the local County Attorney.....child abuse comes in a poor second to re-election. Ethics have no place in politics. Folks, don't hold your breath to see if our current Maricopa County Attorney looks into the alleged child abuse in the Diocese of Phoenix.....the past Maricopa County Attorneys never did.
JudyJones posted at 3:47 pm on Thu, Sep 22, 2011.
Hopefully others who may have knowledge or been harmed by Spaulding or any of these priests, will have the courage to speak up and report it to police, not church officials. Crimes against kids, however old, should be investigated by the independent professionals in law enforcement, not the biased amateurs in church offices.
Keep in mind your silence only hurts, and by speaking up there is a chance for healing, exposing the truth, and therefore protecting others.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511
snapjudy@gmail.com
"Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests" and all clergy.
http://www.snapnetwork.org/