{"id":296881,"date":"2019-03-28T06:30:26","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T10:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=296881"},"modified":"2019-03-28T10:50:49","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T14:50:49","slug":"former-deacon-sues-diocese-for-libel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/03\/former-deacon-sues-diocese-for-libel\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Deacon Sues Diocese for Libel \u2014 UPDATED"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

From CNA:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A former Catholic deacon has charged that the Diocese of Lubbock wrongly named him on its list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors and has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million.<\/p>\n

Lubbock resident Jesus Guerrero has filed a lawsuit that rejected claims he had ever been accused of sex abuse or misconduct. The lawsuit described him as \u201ca faithful servant of God in the Catholic Church his entire life,\u201d the news site EverythingLubbock.com reports.<\/p>\n

The plaintiff charged that the diocese committed libel and defamation against him. His lawsuit said his reputation was destroyed and he has become the object of contempt and ridicule.<\/p>\n

Lucas Flores, the Diocese of Lubbock\u2019s director for the office of communications, told CNA the diocese is not commenting on ongoing litigation.<\/p>\n

In October 2018 all 15 dioceses in Texas pledged to release names of clergy who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor, dating as far back as the 1950s.<\/p>\n

The Diocese of Lubbock released\u00a0its list<\/a> Jan. 31, saying Guerrero had been credibly accused of \u201csexual abuse of a minor.\u201d It reported that he had been permanently removed from ministry in 2008.<\/p>\n

Guerrero was the only deacon on the diocese\u2019s list. Four priests were listed, including two who are deceased.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, there is no pending litigation against the Diocese of Lubbock for any matter pertaining to the sexual abuse of a minor,\u201d the diocese said when it released the list. \u201cHowever, in spite of our best efforts, we realize there could be an omission.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit said that before Guerrero\u2019s name appeared on the list, he \u201chad never been accused of sexual abuse and\/or misconduct against a minor, nor had he ever been investigated for any sexual abuse and\/or misconduct against a minor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026The diocese said Guerrero was assigned to Our Lady of Grace parish in Lubbock from 1997 to 2003, suspended for unstated reasons in 2003, then assigned to San Ramon parish in Woodrow from 2006 to 2007. He was permanently removed from ministry the next year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read it all.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

What goes unexplained, of course, are the circumstances surrounding his removal from ministry in 2008.<\/p>\n

You can read the full suit here.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

UPDATE:<\/strong> A few readers alerted me to this recent news<\/a><\/strong> out of Corpus Christi that bears a striking resemblance to this case. Details:<\/p>\n

\n

Two priests whose names were released by the Diocese of Corpus Christi in a list of priests who had been \u201ccredibly accused\u201d of sexual misconduct have filed lawsuits against the diocese and Bishop Michael Mulvey.<\/p>\n

Attorneys for Fr. John Feminelli\u00a0and Msgr. Michael Heras\u00a0filed lawsuits on behalf of both men Thursday in Nueces County. The men both claim Mulvey and the diocese made \u201cfalse\u201d statements by including them in the list and claiming they had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants knew the statement was false and acted with reckless disregard for the truth,\u201d both lawsuits state. \u201cThe publication of the statement was made with malice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Feminelli and Heras are seeking up to $11 million each in damages, according to the filings. They claim that there \u201cwas, and is, no evidence\u201d that they were credibly accused \u201cof the crime of sexual abuse of a minor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDefendants\u2019 statement was false because Plaintiff was, and is, innocent of the alleged crime of sexual abuse of a minor,\u201d each filing states.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Read on.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From CNA:\u00a0 A former Catholic deacon has charged that the Diocese of Lubbock wrongly named him on its list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors and has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million. Lubbock resident Jesus Guerrero has filed a lawsuit that rejected claims he had ever been accused of sex abuse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":296884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,47],"tags":[12409],"class_list":["post-296881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deacons","category-sex-abuse-crisis","tag-lubbock"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Deacon Sues Diocese for Libel \u2014 UPDATED<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From CNA:\u00a0 A former Catholic deacon has charged that the Diocese of Lubbock wrongly named him on its list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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