Bishop Joseph Fiorenza on Pedophile Priest's Firing

By Bishop Joseph Fiorenza
Houston Chronicle
June 8, 2002

The Catholic Church in the United States is today facing perhaps its most critical challenge and its leaders must do everything possible to heal the wound caused by sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

Next week in Dallas, the U.S. bishops will discuss and vote on the document, "The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People." As reported in the media, this document will chart the course for the Catholic Church in the United States to ensure the safety and protection of children in our communities.

In this tumultuous time, certain facts must be corrected as media outlets work to inform the public about events which occurred many years ago. I feel it is imperative that I reply to the Chronicle's June 2 article ("Priest left heavy trail of abuse / Fiorenza aware of past 'difficulties' ") about my handling of the case of the Rev. David Holley while I was serving as bishop of the Diocese of San Angelo.

The article implied that I knowingly harbored a pedophile while I served as San Angelo's bishop from 1979-1985. I emphatically did not know of Holley's sexual abuse of minors during that time.

My predecessor, Bishop Stephen Leven, did not tell me anything about Holley. Neither Monsignor Larry Droll nor Monsignor Timothy Murphy, the chancellor and vicar general, had any knowledge of Holley's sexual problem. There was nothing in his file that indicated Holley had abused minors. There were no allegations of sexual misconduct against Holley in the San Angelo Diocese before I dismissed him in May 1984 for showing pornographic material to a boy while he was in San Antonio.

Holley was a priest of the Diocese of Worchester. He wanted me to incardinate him into the Diocese of San Angelo. I wrote to Bishop Bernard Flanagan of Worchester, to ask if there was anything about Holley that I should know before incardinating him. I referred to problems that we knew about, which were not pedophilia. If Bishop Flanagan presumed that I knew of Holley's sexual abuse of young boys, he was gravely mistaken. It was patently injurious to me that this was not included in the Chronicle article.

I do not recall ever having even one conversation with Bishop Flanagan about anything. I knew who he was but never spoke with him. I know that neither Flanagan nor his successor, Bishop Timothy Harrington, ever informed me personally or in writing about Holley's pedophilia actions before I dismissed him from the Diocese of San Angelo. I did speak with Harrington after I wrote to him that I had dismissed Holley. It was only then that Harrington informed me of Holley's past history of sexual abuse.

When Holley left San Angelo, he went to Amarillo. Bishop Leroy Matthiesen, now retired, called me to say that a priest from San Angelo asked him to allow Holley to minister in the Diocese of Amarillo. I informed Bishop Matthiesen that I dismissed him because he had shown pornographic pictures to a boy.

The Chronicle reported Bishop Matthiesen claimed I also said that parents complained about Holley taking boys to a movie. I do not remember saying that. It is important to note that neither I, nor Monsignor Droll nor Monsignor Murphy received such a complaint from a parent. Yet the Chronicle article left the impression that not only did a parent lodge such a complaint, but that there was much more involved than taking boys to a movie.

Bishop Matthiesen faxed a letter to the Chronicle which said: "Bishop Fiorenza said that Holley's irascibility and mood swings became an increasing concern, and that when he learned that Holley had shown pornographic pictures to someone while in San Antonio, he dismissed him from the diocese. It may have been Holley's priest friends who told me that Holley had taken altar boys to Midland for dinner and a movie. Bishop Fiorenza did not mention that to me. The Chronicle's report that Fiorenza said Holley was showing 'dirty pictures and exotic (sic) images and these videos' is erroneous. I told the Chronicle that the nephew told his uncle that Holley had shown him dirty pictures and erotic images, and offered to show him a pornographic video. The young man rejected the advances. When his uncle informed me of this, I called Holley in and dismissed him."

It is imperative that the people of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston and the people of the Diocese of San Angelo know that neither I, Monsignor Droll nor Monsignor Murphy had any knowledge about Holley's sexual abuse of minors; nor were there any allegations of this nature.

I want to repeat emphatically that under no circumstances would I have allowed Holley to minister as a priest of the Diocese of San Angelo if I had known that he had sexually abused minors.

There were complaints about him, but none that related to pedophilia. As soon as I confirmed that he had shown pornographic pictures to a minor, I took immediate action to dismiss him.

Joseph A. Fiorenza, bishop, Galveston-Houston Diocese, Houston