Now here’s a bishop who knows how to deal with molesting priests. Bishop Alvaro Corrado del Rio of Tyler, Texas, in no uncertain terms, has told parishioners supporting a priest just convicted of abusing a 13-year-old girl that they are wrong.
I am embarrassed and disagree with any parishioner who has said that the victim in this case is to be blamed in any way for the actions of this priest,” said the bishop in a statement released to Catholic East Texas, the diocesan newspaper. “This crime is about a priest using his priestly authority to manipulate and destroy the life of a victim, which is contrary to all the teaching of the church and the canon law of the church.”
And the bishop’s primary concern has been to take care of the victim and her family, especially with regard to their faith.
“The bishop has been in much prayer about this since Cuello was returned to the States,” [Father Gavin Vaverek] said. “There are legal restrictions about how much we can talk to the family and the girl, and there is not much more we can do at this point but pray.”
Father Vaverek is the “promoter of justice” for the diocese, a new position created by the bishop last year to oversee discipline and prevent such behavior by those who work for the diocese.
Bishop Corrado used to be an auxiliary bishop in Washington, DC, and was an early protester of the way bishops were handling sex abuse cases. He goes on my short list of bishops who are doing the right thing.
