The sexual abuse scandal in Honolulu diocese is a significant chapter in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States and Ireland.

Accusations against clergy

In 1989,

Joseph Anthony Ferrario Joseph Anthony Ferrario (March 3, 1926 – December 12, 2003) was the third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and served from 1982 to 1993. Early life and priestly ministry Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Ferrario was ordained t ...

became the first bishop to be publicly accused of

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, se ...

in the United States. The bishop's accuser was David Figueroa, a cook living in Florida who has tested HIV-positive. He made charges against Ferrario anonymously in 1989 and went public on Geraldo Rivera's TV show in 1990. The

Supreme Court of Hawaii The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the Hawaii, State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decis ...

ruled that a statute of limitation effectively prevented his prosecution. Ferrario maintained his innocence for the rest of his life. One plaintiff won $3.5 million (reduced to $1.04 million on appeal) in the case of Thomas Adamson. Allegations against Adamson spanned 22 years, but two Catholic dioceses kept shuttling him into new assignments.Ibid
/ref> Reverend Mr.

James "Ron" Gonsalves James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

was the administrator of Saint Ann Roman Catholic Church in Waihee, Maui, and pleaded guilty on May 17, 2006 to several counts of sexual assault on a 12-year-old male. Bishop

Clarence Richard Silva Clarence Richard Silva (born August 6, 1949), known as Larry Silva, is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu since 2005. Silva is the first priest born in Hawaii to beco ...

has permanently withdrawn his faculties and has initiated laicization proceedings against Gonsalves with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Bishop DiLorenzo is often credited with creating the first zero tolerance policy on allegations of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

at the hands of priests — a policy that came about well before the Catholic sex abuse scandals that plagued the rest of the nation in the early 2000s (decade).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honolulu Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in the United States Incidents of violence against boys Violence against children