Suits allege sex abuse by Ariz. priests

Michael Clancy | The Arizona Republic

Show Caption Hide Caption Clergy sex abuse lawsuits against Ariz. 6 priests A Phoenix lawyer files 10 more lawsuits against the Diocese of Gallup, N.M., in Coconino County, Ariz., Superior Court.

6 clerics named in cases dating from 1942 to 1977

All but one of the men is dead%3B remaining priest now in Mexico

Gallup Diocese says it may not have money for investigation%2C compensation

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A dozen victims have filed lawsuits in Coconino County Superior Court alleging six Arizona priests who worked in the Catholic Diocese of Gallup, N.M., between 1942 and 1977 had sexually abused them.

The lawsuits, all filed since Jan. 1, claim the abuse took place in Arizona parishes in Flagstaff, Holbrook, Winslow and the Verde Valley.

The package of cases is believed to be the largest single group of priest-abuse lawsuits now active in the United States, according to President Terence McKiernan of bishopaccountability.org, a website that has documented abuse in the Roman Catholic church in the United States since 2003.

In addition to the cases filed this year, another active case was filed in 2012, and as many as a dozen other allegations were settled out of court.

Four of the priests named in the lawsuits and at least two others the diocese has named previously served at Madre de Dios parish in Winslow or at the nearby Catholic school. Hispanic residents founded Madre de Dios in 1951.

"Gallup has some big problems," McKiernan said.

At the times in question, parishes in Flagstaff and central Arizona were part of the Diocese of Gallup. They became part of the Diocese of Phoenix in December 1969 when the new diocese was created.

Parishes in Navajo and Apache counties, including those in Holbrook, Winslow and the Navajo Reservation, remained in the Gallup Diocese.

The claims were filed by Robert Pastor, a Phoenix lawyer. He identified those accused of abuse as:

• Clement Hageman, named in six of the cases.

• Raul Sanchez, accused in three cases.

• John Sullivan, named in two cases.

• James Lindenmeyer, William Allison and Mark Schomack, accused in one case each.

All but Sanchez have died. Sanchez is believed to be somewhere in Mexico.

The suits also accuse the Diocese of Gallup of covering up the cases.

"The diocese is responsible for the conduct of these priests," Pastor said. "They knew these priests were sex offenders, moved them around and never informed the new parishes of their backgrounds. They kept it secret."

He said the diocese has "no excuse or justification" for the cover-ups.

None of the plaintiffs is identified, except with initials. Seven of them live in the Phoenix area in Maricopa County, three others live in Navajo County, one lives in Gallup and one in San Diego. Two of them are women.

The cases could be difficult to prove unless Pastor can pry loose diocesan records on the priests. Documentation is available on Allison, Hageman and Sullivan, but not on the others.

The diocese identified Hageman as an abuser in 2005. The Diocese of Manchester, N.H., where Sullivan was ordained, released his file in 2003. Both have long, detailed histories based on prior lawsuits in other locations and other documentation.

Extensive documentation also is available on Allison, who came to the area from Louisiana, but it is not as comprehensive as that on Hageman and Sullivan.

Pastor said the statute of limitations, which places a strict time frame on such cases, does not apply here.

"You can't hide the abuse, then hide behind the statute of limitations," he said.

The Gallup Diocese issued a limited response in the form of answers to questions asked by a reporter in Gallup.

The unsigned response says the diocese does not comment on pending litigation. It added that it had no previous abuse reports on Lindenmeyer or Sanchez, who both served as diocese officials.

The diocese, which operates on a budget of less than $3 million a year — less than some individual parishes in the Phoenix area — also said it is considering its financial options as it studies the lawsuits.

"The diocese has extremely limited resources, and may not have the financial wherewithal to continue to investigate and attempt to compensate victims of credible sexual misconduct claims," the statement said.

McKiernan of bishop accountability.org said places like the Gallup Diocese are fertile ground for abusive priests, primarily because they need priests badly.

"The bishops may have been more optimistic than they should have been, and they needed bodies," McKiernan said. "These men were the only ones they could find."

Of the six priests named in the suits, two were ordained in Gallup. The others were assigned from elsewhere.

At least two of them came to the diocese from the Servants of the Paraclete, a treatment center for abusive priests in Jemez Springs, N.M.

McKiernan, noting the official positions held by Sanchez and Lindenmeyer and the proximity of the Paraclete center, said the situation in Gallup "is probably even worse" than what is known already.

"A place like Madre de Dios in Winslow was an accident waiting to happen, and it happened," he said.

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Priests named in abuse suits

• Clement Hageman. Ordained in 1930 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The first abuse reports went to the bishop in early 1939. By late 1940, he had his first assignment in the Diocese of Gallup after several failed efforts to find work elsewhere. He served at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Holbrook, Madre de Dios in Winslow, and parishes in Kingman, Ariz., and the Verde Valley area. He was never charged criminally during his lifetime, and he served without suspensions from the time he arrived in Gallup until his death in 1975. He is believed to have abused at least 15 boys.

• John Sullivan. Ordained in Manchester, N.H., in 1942. He is believed to have impregnated at least two young girls and arranged for abortions. He was suspended by 1952 in Manchester, and in 1957, he was sent to the Servants of the Paraclete center in New Mexico. He served briefly in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Gallup; and the Phoenix Diocese with accusations and settlements following him. He retired in 1982 and died in 1999.

• William Allison. Ordained in Alexandria, La., around 1948. After allegations of abuse, he was sent to Servants of the Paraclete in 1958 or 1959. Assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Flagstaff in 1959, where the abuse allegedly occurred. He was dismissed in 1961 after an allegation of abuse. He surfaced in the Diocese of Fresno, Calif., in the mid-'60s, where he was accused of abuse. He worked in California until 1973 when he returned to Louisiana. He worked there until his death in 1975.

• James Lindenmeyer. Ordained in 1948 in Gallup. The alleged abuse took place at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Winslow, where he served in the late 1960s or early 1970s. He died in 2007.

• Raul Sanchez. Ordained in Gallup in 1974. He took over Madre de Dios in Winslow the next year after Hageman's death. The abuse is alleged to have occurred there. He served as diocesan chancellor from 1980 to 1986, then was listed as "on duty, outside of diocese." He is believed to be living in Mexico.

• Mark Schomack. The Franciscan friar was working on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona at the time of the alleged abuse. But no dates are given in the lawsuit, and he previously was not known to the diocese or to his religious order as a possible abuser. He died in 2012.