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FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — A Roman Catholic diocese in Iowa is acknowledging that it kept quiet for 32 years about a priest’s admission to having sexually abused dozens of boys.
The Diocese of Sioux City told The Associated Press in a statement Wednesday that it never contacted police or informed the public about the Rev. Jerome Coyle, despite his 1986 admission.
Diocese spokeswoman Susan O’Brien says two alleged adult victims recently came forward with old allegations against Coyle that will be reported to law enforcement.
She says the bishop removed Coyle’s priestly duties in 1986 and sent him to a facility in New Mexico for evaluation and treatment. O’Brien says Coyle never returned to a parish and worked as a civilian in New Mexico.
The diocese recently moved Coyle to a care facility in Fort Dodge that is across the street from a Catholic school. O’Brien says the diocese didn’t tell school officials about Coyle’s past when he was placed there.
Coyle served as pastor at Holy Angels Parish in Roselle from 1974 to 1977 and in St. Brigid Parish in Grand Junction and Paton from 1977 to 1978. Bishop R. Walker Nickless has released a video statement about the allegations against Coyle and has asked anyone who was a victim to come forward, with details on how to do that included in that message. That video can be found below.
