Catholic priests past compels some members to renounce the church

By Meera Pal, STAFF WRITER

PLEASANTON — After a lifetime as a devout Catholic, Theresa Aimar is renouncing the church.
Aimar and her husband made the difficult decision to leave their faith after learning the Rev. Padraig Greene, the pastor-in-waiting at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Pleasanton, was arrested several years ago on lewdness allegations.

Greene, who will be named parish priest for the Catholic Community of Pleasanton, still has the support of the Rev. Dan Danielson and Bishop Allen Vigneron of the Diocese of Oakland.

Shocked, angry and feeling betrayed, Aimar said she felt sick to her stomach upon hearing of the 1999 incident in which Greene was arrested on suspicion of committing a lewd act in a public restroom at an Oakland hills park.

For Aimar, it brought back memories of her brothers childhood abuse by a Catholic priest.

We will still be Christians, but the Catholic priests have lost all credibility with us and, unfortunately, all respect, she said.

While Danielson is saddened by news that a family has left the parish, he said most of the 5,000 parishioners still support Greene and understand the concept of forgiveness.

(Greene) did something wrong, but he has atoned for it and gone on, he said.

Danielson also said he has told Greene not to talk to the media about this controversy.

Joey Piscitelli, director of the Northern California chapterof Survival Network of Those Abused by Priests, disagrees. He handed out fliers Sunday warning parishioners of Greene's past — something he said the church should have done.
"Whether or not he was convicted is not the issue," Piscitelli said. "The issue is that he makes poor choices and he's lucky he wasn't convicted. However, his behavior is a problem for kids."

Later this week, Danielson will issue a statement about "what really happened" in 1999. He said Greene was never convicted, nor were any children involved in the incident. Danielson said he considers Piscitelli's fliers misleading and inaccurate.

"If it was a present danger he would not be here in the first place ... If there was a history of being with children, he wouldn't be serving as a priest anywhere," Danielson said.

According to an Oakland Police report, an undercover officer investigating complaints of sex in the rest rooms at the North Oakland Regional Sports Center on Broadway said he saw Greene engaging in a sex act by himself.

Greene spent two days in custody and charges were eventually dismissed by the Alameda County District Attorney after he agreed to undergo sexual counseling at St. Michael's Center in St. Louis. St. Michael's Center, run by the Servants of the Paraclete, a Catholic religious order, treats priests, nuns and brothers who suffer from alcoholism, depression and other disorders.

"History has proved to us in California (that) priests who go to sexual therapy most often are repeat offenders," Piscitelli said.

That the church still plans to name Greene pastor of the Pleasanton congregations spotlights what Piscitelli considers an ongoing problem with the Catholic hierarchy.

"This is what got the Catholic Church in trouble," Piscitelli said. "This attitude that a man who has committed a sexual offense is fine to go back and oversee a ministry."

But the past is the past, said parishioner Michael Gallagher. The chairman of the pastor transitional team said over the past five years, Greene has done great work in Pleasanton.

"He has a very humble heart and is very caring," said Gallagher, who also believes the anti-Greene fliers inaccurate. "The incident took place in 1999 ... and he is still being put through the wringer."

Aimar, on the other hand, said the church needs to stop sweeping allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug.

"If my mother had had a flier like this one, she may have not let the pastor pull my brother out of his faith formation class to see how well he knew his Rosary," Aimar said.


Meera Pal covers Pleasanton. Reach her at 925-847-2120 or mpal@bayareanewsgroup.com. Staff writer Scott Marshall contributed to this story.