MCELROY PROMOTED DESPITE ABUSE AND COVER-UPS

Appointment to Washington devastates victims of clerical sex abuse

Several news outlets reported that Pope Francis will be appointing San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy to follow Cardinal Wilton Gregory as the archbishop of Washington, D.C. The news coverage was remarkable not for what it reported, but for what it failed to say about both McElroy and Francis.

While The Pillar noted that “McElroy has himself faced questions about McCarrick in the past, with some expressing concerns about how he responded to a 2016 warning about the now-laicized former cardinal,” no mention was made how McElroy attempted to cover up the satanic sexual abuse of Rachel Mastrogiacomo, or how the San Diego Diocese under McElroy filed for bankruptcy in 2024 after 457 sex abuse claims estimated to cost $600 million were filed against the San Diego Diocese.

McElroy began covering up for abusive priests as soon as he was installed as the Bishop of San Diego. Rachel Mastrogiacomo reported being satanically sexually abused by Father Jacob Bertrand to San Diego diocesan officials in 2014. Although Bertrand was removed from ministry in November 2014, he was allowed to return to ministry when McElroy assumed office on April 15, 2015. When Mastrogiacomo learned that McElroy returned Bertrand to ministry and that his dark deeds were being covered up, she filed a criminal complaint against Bertrand in Minnesota where it is illegal for clergy to engage in sexual acts with adults in certain pastoral contexts. Even though McElroy’s lawyers refused to cooperate with prosecutors, Bertrand pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten years’ probation. Mastrogiacomo believes that had she not appealed to the criminal court and exposed Betrand’s felonious behavior and McElroy’s cover-up, Bertrand might still be in ministry today and preying on other vulnerable virgins.

On September 30, 2024, Mastrogiacomo and another abuse victim, Lisa Roers, sent an open letter via email to Pope Francis that was received at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, D.C. at 10:35 p.m. The two survivors pleaded with Pope Francis to discipline Cardinal McElroy and Omaha Archbishop George Lucas whom they document covered up their abuse by priests under their supervision. Details of the abuse and the cover up by the two prelates were provided to the Pope in a linked video, The Prayer of the Prey. Neither the Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, nor Pope Francis, responded to the open letter or the video.

French investigative journalist, Martin Boudot, documented how Pope Francis covered up countless cases of sexual abuse when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires despite writing in his book, On Heaven and Earth, “It [sex abuse] never happened in my diocese.” If Pope Francis turned a deaf ear to Argentine abuse victims who appear in Boudot’s Sex Abuse in the Church: Code of Silence, then one should not be surprised that he would ignore the passionate pleas of Rachel and Lisa in The Prayer of the Prey. How can Pope Francis discipline prelates like McElroy and Lucas when he himself has probably covered up far more abuse than the two of them combined?

Pope Francis is indebted to Cardinal McElroy for covering up the report he received from the late psychotherapist Richard Sipe documenting how he “interviewed twelve seminarians and priests who attest to propositions, harassment, or sex with McCarrick, who has stated, ‘I do not like to sleep alone’.” One might understand how McElroy might question the credibility of one or two alleged victims, but twelve?

In an article about McElroy’s appointment to the College of Cardinals, Pillar editor J.D. Flynn defended McElroy’s handling of the abuse allegations he received from Sipe by arguing, “…if McElroy did pass on Sipe’s letter to Rome, it’s not clear what more the bishop could have done.” If McElroy were truly concerned about the impact the McCarrick scandals were having “on the hearts and souls of Catholics,” should he not have ensured that Sipe’s allegations involving McCarrick were thoroughly investigated and adjudicated by the pope who alone has the authority to discipline a cardinal of the Church?

The fact that The McCarrick Report mentions how Sipe reported McCarrick to Pope Benedict XVI but didn’t say one word about how Sipe shared the similar incriminating evidence with McElroy could lead one to believe that both McElroy and Francis covered up for McCarrick.

Most journalists reporting on McElroy’s appointment to Washington where McCarrick served from 2001 to 2006 will probably miss the connection between McElroy and McCarrick who is believed to have helped orchestrate McElroy’s appointment to San Diego. Most news outlets will also probably fail to report the deep emotional and psychological harm McElroy’s promotion will cause victims of clerical sexual abuse.

When McElroy failed to get California legislators to overturn California Law AB 218 which created a three-year window for abuse survivors to file claims against alleged perpetrators, one victim said, “Bishop McElroy does not want to bear any responsibility for the horrific crimes perpetrated on each of us with this look-back opportunity because he does not want to have a ‘stain’ on his record which might harm his career.” With McElroy’s appointment to Washington, it seems that covering up abuse and bankrupting one’s diocese to the tune of $600 million does not affect one’s career at all in the Roman Catholic Church.

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Gene Thomas Gomulka is a sexual abuse victims’ advocate, investigative reporter, and screenwriter. A former Navy (O6) Captain/Chaplain, seminary instructor, and diocesan respect life director, Gomulka was ordained a priest for the Altoona-Johnstown diocese and later made a Prelate of Honor (Monsignor) by St. John Paul II. Email him at msgr.investigations@gmail.com.