/ Modified sep 19, 2018 4:54 p.m.

Tucson Diocese Fires 10 Over Sexual Abuse Allegations

Church officials say safeguards are in place to protect children.

Bishop Edward Joseph Weisenburger Bishop of the Diocese of Tucson Edward Joseph Weisenburger, in a September 2018 studio interview at Arizona Public Media.
AZPM

Tucson Bishop Edward Weisenburger said the diocese has fired 10 people in the last decade due to allegations of sexual misconduct and revoked the clearance for those working with children from a dozen others.

The Diocese of Tucson reviews every employee or volunteer who works with children at its churches or schools. Those protocols are in place to prevent child abuse.

"We think it is very reasonable to suspect that many people with substantial issues in their background know better than to apply. Because the background checks are going to blow the whistle. So again, it is one more layer of security, one more gate keeping the wrong people away from children," Weisenburger told Arizona Public Media.

Weisenburger outlined the diocese protocols in a six-page letter to the Catholic community.

The Diocese of Tucson paid a $14 million settlement in 2002 to ten men who described clergy abuse in Tucson between the 1960s and 1980s.

The Bishop said there are currently no abuse allegations in Tucson.


The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona