HOUSTON — Former Texas priest Alfredo Prado was kicked out of the Catholic Church in the mid-2000s and fled to Costa Rica to join a religious doomsday cult amid accusations of child sexual abuse.
That history of abuse stretches across the state at least four decades. Five Catholic dioceses in Texas named Prado on their lists of credibly accused priests last week.
But the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston was not one of them, even though he spent three years at Immaculate Heart of Mary on the city’s east side.
Prado is one of 10 priests KHOU 11 Investigates found who spent time in Houston-area churches and Catholic schools who were credibly accused of child sexual abuse elsewhere but were left off Galveston-Houston’s list of 40 priests.
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“The other dioceses should be talking to each other, especially with all the dioceses in the same state,” said Rev. Tom Doyle, an inactive priest turned legal advocate for abuse survivors.
Doyle called it a loophole in the lists. He’s reviewed more than a thousand sex abuse cases in the church and often testifies as an expert witness.
“If it was total transparency, the best practice would be that they publish the names of everybody whose known in that diocese to have sexually offended anybody, anywhere,” Doyle said.
Prado was ordained in 1957 by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate order. Amarillo, Corpus Christi, San Angelo, San Antonio and Victoria all named him on their lists.
The abuse stretched from 1965 to at least 1990, according to the lists and assignment history. He served at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Houston from 1974 to 1976, according to the Official Catholic Directory.
But in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, the list only includes reported abuse “which occurred within its geographical boundaries,” according to the archdiocese.
That means if a survivor from the Houston area has not come forward, a priest was left off the list even if he was credibly accused elsewhere.
As a result, parishioners can sometimes be left in the dark when it comes to a priest’s wayward history. That was the case at the Holy Rosary Church in Houston, where Rev. Joseph Tu Ngoc Nguyen served the parish from the mid-1990s until 2009 after facing sexual abuse allegations in Fort Worth.
“It was transferring someone that they knew was a known abuser,” attorney Tahira Khan Merritt said.
Merritt represented seven of Tu Ngoc Nguyen’s accusers and ultimately settled the case for an undisclosed amount of money. His name was released on the Diocese of Fort Worth’s list of accused priests, but not Houston’s.
“The people in Houston that might have been abused by Father Tu when he was there for 12 years don’t see his name on the list and are reluctant to come forward,” Merritt said.
Doyle said all this could be fixed if bishops across the country got together and created a nationwide list of all credibly accused priests and included their entire assignment history.
“Common sense would tell you that (Cardinal Daniel) DiNardo, since he is president of the Bishops’ conference, would get up in front of them and say, ‘Hey, fellas, we need to have a nationwide sexual offenders list,’” Doyle said.
DiNardo, the archbishop of Galveston-Houston, did not respond to a request for comment.
Doyle did not have a lot of faith that a national list will ever come to light unless the pope issues a decree to do so. However, at least one diocese in Texas took it upon itself to acknowledge its former priests that were accused elsewhere.
The Diocese of Tyler noted priests that served in churches that became part of the young diocese in 1987 and at least one priest who served in the diocese after it was formed.
The former Houston-area priests who were credibly accused elsewhere but left off the Galveston-Houston list are listed below. The assignment histories are compiled from national and local catholic directories.
Alfredo Prado
Ordained: 1957, Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Houston-area assignments: 1974-1976, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Houston
Other assignments: 1965-1969, 1971-1973, St. Timothy, San Antonio; 1970, Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio; 1977-1978, St. Mary, San Antonio; 1979, St. Joseph’s Church, Eagle Pass, Texas; 1980-1983, St. Anthony High School Seminary; 1981-1983, Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church, Port Lavaca; 1984-1986, Sacred Heart Church, Big Spring, Texas; 1987-1989, Holy Family Church, Grulla, Texas; 1990, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Midland; 1991-2001, unassigned and living at Oblate residences in San Antonio.
Status: 1988, placed on restrictive ministry; 1997, removed from public ministry; 2004, dismissed from Oblates; 2006, dismissed from the clerical state.
Named on credibly accused lists: Amarillo, Corpus Christi, San Angelo, San Antonio and Victoria
Joseph Tu Ngoc Nguyen
Ordained: 1964, Dominican Order
Houston-area assignments: 1995-2009, Holy Rosary Church, Houston
Other assignments: Sep. 1975-Nov. 1977, Sept. 1980-Aug. 1993, St. Matthew, Arington; Dec. 1977 - Nov. 1979, Aquinas Institute, Dubuque, IA; Nov. 1979 – Sep. 1980, St. Michael Bedford, Fort Worth; 1993, Dominican Priory of St. Albert the Great.
Status: Suspended as of 2012
Named on credibly accused lists: Diocese of Fort Worth
Edward D. DeRussy
Ordained: 1957, Society of Jesus (Jesuit)
Houston-area assignments: 1986-1992, Stake Jesuit College Preparatory; 2000-2001, St. John Hospital, Nassau Bay, in residence: St. Paul Church
Other assignments: Unknown-1967, Jesuit High School, El Paso; 1968-1978, Jesuit High School, New Orleans; 1979-1985, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.; 1993-1997, St. Joseph Church, Zephyrhills, Fla.; 1999, La Ignatius Providence, New Orleans. Also served at Jesuit High School and Sacred Heart Church, Tampa; and St. Benedict Church, Crystal River, Fla.
Status: Died in 2001 at St. Paul Church
Named on credibly accused lists: Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province
Thomas Naughton
Ordained: 1965, Society of Jesus (Jesuit)
Houston-area assignments: 1990, Stake Jesuit College Preparatory
Other assignments: 1968, Jesuit High School, El Paso; 1969-1970, Jesuit High School, Tampa; 1973, Loyola University; 1974-1979, Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas; 1980-1989, Manresa House of Retreats, Convent, La.; 1991, Immaculate Conception, New Orleans; 1992-1994, Montserrat Retreat House, Lake Dallas, Texas; 1995-2002, 2012, St. Kilian Parish, Mission Vejo, Cali.; 2007, Ignatius House (retired), Atlanta, Ga. Also served at Jesuit High School, New Orleans; and St. John’s Co-Cathedral, Convent, La.
Status: Left Society of Jesuits in 2009, died in 2012
Named on credibly accused lists: Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province
Benjamin G. Smylie
Ordained: 1985, Society of Jesus (Jesuit)
Houston-area assignments: 1986-1987, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
Other assignments: 2001-2002, St. Anthony Church, Longview, Texas; 2002, St. Jude, Henderson, Texas. Smylie also served at Holy Spirit, Holly Lake, Texas; Bishop Gorman, Tyler; Jesuit College Preparatory School, Dallas; St. Rita, Dallas.
Status: Died 2004
Named on credibly accused lists: Dallas and noted by Diocese of Tyler
Howard Melzer
Ordained: 1958, Priests of the Sacred Heart
Houston-area assignments: 1981-1985, St. Joseph, Brazoria, Texas; 1995, 2002-2003, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Houston; 1998-2001, Christ the Redeemer, Houston
Other assignments: 1959-1960, 1962-1965, 1996-1997, Sacred Heart Monastery, Hales Corners, Wisc.; 1961, St. Joseph’s Indian School, Chamberlain, South Dakota; 1966-1967 St. Joseph’s Novitiate, Baileys Harbor, Wisc.; 1968, Sacred Heart, Dupree, South Dakota; 1969-1971 Sacred Heart, Walls, Mich.; 1972-1976, St. Cecilia, San Antonio, Texas; 1977-1980, St. Matthew, Corona, Ca.; 1986-1988, Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary, Franklin, Wisc.; 1989-1994, St. James, Chamberlain, South Dakota; 2004-2009, Villa Maria Health and Rehabilitation Center, Franklin, Wisc.
Status: Diocese of San Bernardino reported to religious order for action in 1993, and to police in 2002. Died 2009
Name on credibly accused lists: Diocese of San Bernardino, Ca.
Daniel Joseph Delaney
Ordained: 1973
Houston-area assignments: In residence at St. Rose of Lima, according to Diocese of Austin records
Other assignments: 1974-1976, Sts. Cyril & Methodius, Granger; 1977-1978, Sacred Heart, Austin; 1979-1980, St. Mary’s Church, Lockhart; 1981, St. Joseph’s Church, Bryan; 1982-1986, St. Mary Church, Lampass, Texas.
Status: Died 2008
Named on credibly accused lists: Diocese of Austin
Charles G. Coyle
Ordained: 1965, Society of Jesus (Jesuit)
Houston-area assignments: 1978, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
Other assignments: 1966-1967, Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland; 1968, Boston College; 1967-1977, Newton South High School; 1978, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory; 1979, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.; 1981-1982, St. Louise De Marillac Church, Arabi, La; 1983, St. Andrew of the Apostle, New Orleans; 1984-1985, Center of Jesus the Lord, New Orleans; 1986-1988, St. Cecilia, New Orleans; 1993-1995, Ignatius House, Athens, GA; 1997, Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House, La Dallas, Texas.
Status: Removed from ministry 2002, left society 2004, died 2015
Named on credibly accused lists: Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province
Jody Blanchard
Ordained: 1983, Society of Jesus (Jesuit)
Houston-area assignments: Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
Other assignments: 1984, Jesuit Community, Berkley, Ca.; St. Charles Borromeo Church, Grand Coteau, La.; 1989-1991, Loyola University and Tulane University. Also served at Immaculate Conception, Baton Rouge, La.
Status: Left Jesuits in 1994
Named on credibly accused lists: Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province
Austin N. Park
Ordained: 1955
Houston-area assignments: 1980-1983, St. Joseph Church, Houston
Other assignments: 1957, Our Lady of Guadalupe, San Antonio; 1966, Jesuit High School, El Paso; 1967-1968, Gesù Parish, Miami, Fla; 1969-1970 St. Charles College and Christ the King Church, Grand Coteau; 1971-1976, Sacred Heart Church, Tampa; 1977-1979, Immaculate Conception Parish, New Orleans; 1984-1986, St. Mary’s Church, Greenville, SC; 1987-1991, Our Lady of the Rosary, Greenville, SC; 1995, Sacred Heart Church, El Paso; 1997-2001, St. Philip Neri Church; 2002-2013, Ignatius Residence, New Orleans. Also served at: Jesuit High School, Shreveport, La.; Jesuit High School, New Orleans; Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala.; Colegio San Ignacio, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; Oakdale Facility, Oakdale, La.
Status: Died 2013
Named on credibly accused lists: Jesuits U.S. Central and Southern Province