St. Thomas Aquinas. Photo by Danny Fulgencio.
Former priest Edmundo Paredes made headlines when he fled town in 2018 after being accused of molesting three boys and financial theft at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Oak Cliff.
After the accusations surfaced, the bishop of Dallas vowed to name Dallas priests accused of sexually abusing children. In a public letter released Thursday, Bishop Edward J. Burns wrote that a group of former law-enforcement officers investigated 2,424 priests who had served in the diocese since 1950.
“Those investigators identified files, which contained credible allegations of the sexual abuse of minors,” he wrote. “The Diocesan Review Board, which includes local experts in law enforcement, clinical psychology, law and medicine, then reviewed those allegations.”
The dioceses of Dallas and Fort Worth released the names of 31 priests who have been credibly accused. Eleven of them served in East Dallas. Below are the details. Note that we’re only listing neighborhood church assignments.
Michael Barone served St. Bernard of Clairvaux located between Little Forest Hills and Casa Linda. He retired in 2017.
Richard Brown served St. Thomas Aquinas. He was removed in 2002.
Robert Crisp served St. Pius X in Casa View on Gus Thomasson Road. He was publicly accused in 2010 but was only removed as a priest last year.
Paul Detzel served St. Thomas Aquinas beginning in 1973, the year he was ordained. He was removed just four years later.
Henry McGill served St. Edward in Old East Dallas by Baylor hospital on Simpson Street. He died in 1996.
Jeremy Myers served St. Thomas Aquinas. He was removed in 2018.
James Fitzpatrick served St. Edward. He died in 1973.
Richard Johnson served St. Bernard of Clairvaux. He was also chancellor of the Diocese of Dallas and chaplain of the SMU Newman Center. He retired in 2006 and died in 2016.
Patrick Lynch served St. Pius X. Church leaders documented the priest’s misconduct three decades before pressing him to retire in 1995. He died in 2014.
Jose Saldana served St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Pius X. In 1998 a man came forward saying Saldana had molested him 20 years previously. The newspaper reported that Saldana took leave from his Ferris church to attend a treatment center for Catholics in St. Louis. The list says he was removed in 1998.
Raymond (John) Scott served St. Edward from 1948-1950, according to his obituary. He retired in 2000 and died in 2012.
Click here for the complete list.
