According to news reports, the five Jesuits spent time at Houston’s Strake Jesuit College Preparatory.
December 7, 2018 – 12:00 pm: The Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province released the names of 42 people in their province who had been accused of sexual abuse of a minor.
Five of the people on this list were at some time involved with Houston’s Strake Jesuit College Preparatory. These five include Thomas J. Naughton, Vincent A. Orlando, Charles G. Coyle, Edward D. DeRussy, and Jody Blanchard.
The Jesuits released this list in response to mounting criticism of the Catholic Church in general and the Jesuit order in particular. According to Provincial Ronald Mercier, “The storm that the Church experiences today calls forth from us an unprecedented and yet needed response. Silence in the face of the events of recent months cannot be an option.”
According to the Jesuits, the men on the list have all been credibly accused of some form of sexual abuse of a minor, although the list does not “imply that the allegations are true and correct.”
Jesuit officials state that the list was put together on the basis of an internal review of personnel files. At this point, it is unknown what action, if any, legal authorities will take.
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