In the name of the Church, I want, first of all to express my sincere sorrow that so many have been subjected to the evil actions of priests and bishops. Thus, I apologize again, especially for any who have been subjected to injury at the hands of the clergy named below. While the Church has taken some very significant actions over the past twenty years, those actions are significant in terms of the present and future protection of children. However, they do not touch the very real trauma which the evil actions of deacons, priests and bishops have caused in the lives of thousands of young people in our nation.
Since the Release of the names of priests accused of sexual abuse of minors in January of 2019 the Diocese of Santa Rosa has pledged greater transparency in regard to the perpetrators of these crimes. The Diocese was informed by way of a letter dated June 10 (arrived June 17) that an accusation against Reverend Jerome Stack, a member of the Precious Blood Fathers, a Religious Community which operated Cardinal Newman High School from 1971 through 1981, was found credible by the Community’s Review Board. Thus, the Diocese has added the name of Jerome Stack to the list of the accused who served in the Diocese.
Bishop Vasa has set Sunday, February 9th as the day he will celebrate a “Marriage Mass” to honor married couples throughout the Diocese of Santa Rosa. The Marriage Mass will take place at the Cathedral of St. Eugene in Santa Rosa at 3 PM. Following the Mass there will be a “wedding reception” in the Msgr. Becker Center featuring guest speaker Patrick Coffin.
Reverend Michael Culligan - Retiring from Active Pastoral Ministry effective Monday, June 24, 2019. Reverend Denis O’Sullivan - Retiring from Active Pastoral Ministry effective Monday, July 1, 2019.
Two new priests came to the Diocese of Santa Rosa in February to exercise their priestly ministry. Reverend Rowell MOP from the Philippines, is a Religious priest of the Missionaries of the Poor and Reverend Sudhakar Mannam from India, is a Diocesan priest of the Diocese of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Bishop Vasa made the following assignments: