Two San Antonio-area Catholic priests have been officially removed from their positions and reported to the authorities after an internal investigation concluded they had sexually abused minors.
In a letter to the St. Monica Catholic Church in Converse, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller wrote, “It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I inform you of substantiated allegations of sexually inappropriate physical contact with a minor by Father Alejandro Ortega.”
“The child reported this inappropriate contact during a teen ACTS retreat,” the letter said. “The parish notified the parents of the teen and reported the matter to the archdioceses, who also informed the Bexar County District Attorney’s Special Crimes Division.”
“I opened a preliminary canonical investigation into the allegation and asked Fr. Ortega to refrain from ministry during this preliminary investigation, which we conducted with the assistance of an independent private investigator,” the archbishop noted.
The investigation found “that there was sufficient evidence of sexually inappropriate physical contact with a minor.” The Archdiocesan Review Board advised that “Fr. Ortega may pose a continuing risk to minors, that he should not be returned to ministry, and that the affected communities should be notified,” the letter states.
“I would like to publicly express my gratitude to the survivor for bravely coming forward and helping our Church by sharing this personal and painful experience,” Archbishop Garcia-Siller continued.
“The archdiocese takes seriously any allegation of sexual misconduct with children,” the letter claimed. “We encourage anyone who is a victim of sexual abuse to contact the police.”
Additional resources were provided for survivors and others who would like to report violations of the Church’s Code of Conduct policies.
“I pledge my commitment to continue to work toward making every Catholic Church, school and institution a safe harbor for all of our children,” the archbishop concluded. “Please join me in prayer as we reach out to any and all who may be victims of sexual abuse.”
The letter read before the St. Monica congregation on August 13 additionally included Archbishop Garcia-Siller explaining, “My heart breaks in sharing this story because, at its core, every story such as this involves someone precious in God’s sight, a child, wounded by the selfishness of someone who should have known better.”
In a similar letter, the archbishop also announced the removal of Father Jesus Eduardo Martinez-Soliz from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Spring Branch for also allegedly engaging in sexually inappropriate contact with a minor.
“Our investigation highlighted the importance of our Code of Conduct and guidelines for ministry with minors, and of the value of our Virtus training, which helped us address this misconduct in a timely manner and prevent more serious abuse,” he noted, per the National Catholic Register.
Sexual offenses plague other cities in Texas as well. Dallas has recorded 452 reports of sex crimes, including fondling, sexual assault, rape, and sodomy, this year, according to police data updated on August 14.
