The man believed to know more about the incidence of child sex abuse in the Catholic church than any other priest in America is believed to currently be living in Menlo Park, according to a report released Oct. 23 by a Minnesota-based law firm investigating priests accused of sexual abuse.
Cardinal William Levada was Archbishop of San Francisco from 1995 to 2005 and was the highest-ranking American priest in the Vatican from 2005 to 2012. During that time, he was assigned to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, or CDF at the Vatican, which is described as “the ultimate authority working directly with the Pope on child sexual abuse.”
The report also names 33 men connected with the Diocese of San Jose who have been accused of sexual abuse, building on a list of 15 names the diocese released Oct. 18.
Jeff Anderson & Associates, which filed a lawsuit in early October against 10 of California’s 11 Roman Catholic dioceses alleging a sexual abuse cover-up, published the list in a large report that includes 212 names across three dioceses including San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland.
The report has photos of the accused, their work history and accusations, sourced through existing online resources like media reports, bishopaccountability.org and local dioceses’ public statements. The report also suggests San Jose was a “dumping ground” for priests accused of sexual abuse.
All of the names on the Diocese of San Jose’s list are presented in the report, but 18 new men are accused of sexually abusing children over the course of several years.
The first list of 15 names includes Philip McCrillis, who was alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct with children while at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park and St. Albert the Great Parish in Palo Alto between 1968 and 1969. In addition, the Diocese of San Jose named Arthur Harrison, Alexander Larkin, George Moss, Leonel Noia, Joseph Pritchard and Hernan Toro as having “credible allegations” against them. They reportedly have ties to nearby parishes in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos and San Mateo. Larkin was assigned to the Newman Club at Canada College in Woodside from 1969 to 1982. Two men allege that Larkin sexually abused them as minors between 1975 and 1980 while serving as altar boys at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Palo Alto, and another person said he was abused by Larkin at St. William Catholic Church in Los Altos in 1981. His current whereabouts are unknown.
New names released of men who had ties to Menlo Park are:
• James A. Clark, who was at Nativity of Our Lord Church from 1951 to 1955.
• John O’Connor, who was at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park from 1967 to 1971. He died in 2013.
• Carl Anthony Schipper, who was at St. Raymond Catholic Church from 1968 to 1970, Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Belmont from 1970 to 1972, Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo from 1970 to 1979, and back in Menlo Park at St. Patrick’s Seminary from 1992 to 2000. In 2000, he was arrested for sending “harmful materials” to minors over the internet. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to six months in jail and three years of probation, and was required to register as a sex offender. He retired in 2003 and his current whereabouts are unknown.
• Sidney J. Custodio, who was at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in 1974. Believed to be living in Menlo Park as of 2008.
• Milton T. Walsh, who was at St. Patrick’s Seminary from 1985 to 1989. Current whereabouts unknown.
• James H. Gandrau, who was reported on sabbatical in Menlo Park in 1990. Current whereabouts unknown.
• James E. Braley, who was at the Vatican II Institute in Menlo Park from 2000 to 2001. Current whereabouts unknown.
• William S. Myers, who was at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Menlo Park from 2007 to 2010. According to the report, he was removed from the ministry by the Archdiocese of San Francisco in May 2011, after allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced against him. Current whereabouts unknown.
“The data reveals the scandalous scale of hundreds of priests assaulting thousands of minors from early history to the present in these Dioceses,” the report says. “The data collected suggests the patterns and practices of Church officials, including the orchestration of an institutional cover-up of an enormous magnitude.”
The Diocese of San Jose, which released its list on Oct. 18, has said its list includes only the names of the “credibly accused” and the group may grow. The list only includes those who admitted to the offense, were convicted legally or deemed guilty by the Independent Diocesan Review Board.
Many of the priests in the new report worked in the Archdiocese of San Francisco and Diocese of Oakland, in addition to San Jose, and several are listed as having worked at schools in the area, including Santa Clara University, Bellarmine College Preparatory, and Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo.
The San Jose diocese said the new list is “heartbreaking” and officials are currently reviewing the names and will respond to the allegations. The church added it is committed to providing healing and reconciliation for the victims.
“This will allow us to begin the process of restoring trust that has been painfully eroded by those in positions of leadership and trust by being accountable and transparent for what has happened in the past within the Diocese of San Jose,” diocesan officials said in a statement.
Go to is.gd/report582 to access the report.
Kate Bradshaw contributed to this report.
