Last updated on January 29, 2020
Clergy who had previously served in Rockwall, Rowlett and Garland were named in a list of 31 names released by the Dallas Catholic Diocese.
Richard Brown, who served in Our Lady of the Lake in Rockwall among other churches in the area. Brown was ordained in 1980 and was removed from the priesthood in 2002.
Robert Crisp, also named in the list, served at Sacred Heart in Rowlett. He was ordained in 1975 and removed from clergy in 2018.
In 2010, Crisp resigned from Sacred Heart parish.
The list of 31 names from the Diocese of Dallas is one of 14 such lists posted by dioceses in Texas Thursday. Across the state, nearly 300 clergy appear on the lists as having been “credibly accused of sexual abuse of children since 1950.”
According to a letter from Bishop Edward J. Burns released on Thursday, “The process to compile this list began with an outside group of former state and federal law enforcement officers that reviewed the files of the 2,424 priests who have served in this diocese since 1950. Those investigators identified files which contained credible allegations of the sexual abuse of minors. The Diocesan Review Board, which includes local experts in law enforcement, clinical psychology, law, and medicine, then reviewed those allegations. The list of names I have provided you reflects the recommendations of our Diocesan Review Board, and I am grateful for their diligence, integrity, and expertise.”
“As we look back at the Church’s history, our failure to protect our most vulnerable from abuse, and hold accountable those who preyed on them, fills me with both sorrow and shame,” Burns said in the letter. “But the painful yet necessary process that began in 2002 in this Diocese has also led to much-needed reforms that we continue to rigorously implement today. Going forward, we must remain vigilant.”
To view the list and get more information please visit www.cathdal.org/response.
