Franciscan Friars Province of St. Barbara releases list of friars accused of sex abuse

Late last week, on May 21, the Franciscan Friars Province of Saint Barbara quietly released a list of friars accused of sexually abusing minors.

This includes nine new names assigned or in residence in Santa Barbara not previously known to survivor advocates nor the public:

Fr. Felipe Baldonado, Camillus Cavagnaro, Philip Colloty, Adrian Furman, Martin Gates, Gus Hootka, Mark Liening, Finbar Kenneally, and Felix “Raymond” Calonge.

“With these new names, our investigations show 37 Franciscan predators who have been assigned, in residence, or performed their ministry on a reoccurring basis in Santa Barbara,” said Tim Hale in an email. Hale is an attorney with Nye, Stirling, Hale & Miller who represents a large number of priest sex abuse survivors. “They disagree with on our numbers, classifications.”

The Oakland-based group called the release of the list a demonstration of their commitment to transparency and accountability and helping survivors heal.

27 of the 50 friars listed were assigned to Old Mission Santa Barbara or the former Saint Anthony’s Seminary; some accusations stem back as far as the 1930s.

Many of the named alleged perpetrators were assigned to Santa Barbara following accusations of sexual abuse of minors elsewhere, while a number of the accused men were placed in elder care facilities in various California towns, many close to schools.

This is a developing story.

Click here to read the list in its entirety.