A priest who once reported to the Chicago province of a religious order resigned as pastor of his California church following revelations that he had pleaded guilty in 1993 to battering three teenage boys, church officials said Monday.
Rev. Ponciano Ramos resigned Saturday as pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Yucca Valley, Calif., after the Tribune inquired of the Diocese of San Bernardino about his past conviction.
On Monday, Ramos’ religious order, Society of the Divine Word, pledged to disclose fully its priests’ histories of misconduct–and the diocese promised more thorough background checks of priests.
Court documents obtained by the Tribune last week revealed that Ramos admitted that as a pastor in Indianapolis, he touched the genitals of three 13-year-old boys in 1992. The Society of the Divine Word failed to inform the San Bernardino diocese fully about the case when recommending Ramos for a new post as pastor five years later.
On Friday, Ramos, 55, met with church officials to discuss his prior conviction, and on Saturday he sent the diocese his letter of resignation. Ramos could not be reached, and leaders of his order would not say where his next assignment will be.
The diocese broke the news to parishioners during Sunday mass at St Mary’s. Rev. Howard Lincoln, the diocese spokesman, read to the parishioners a letter from Bishop Gerald R. Barnes:
“The immediacy of Father Ramos’ resignation reflects his desire not to let his past conduct affect the mission and work of our diocese and the Society of the Divine Word.
“Keep him in your prayers, together with all those affected by these events.”
Lincoln would not say whether the diocese asked Ramos to leave. “Once the details of this became known to us,” he said, “we were extremely concerned about his conduct in 1992, which we view as a totally unacceptable and horrendous lapse in judgment.”
Rev. Eammon Donnelly, provincial for Society of the Divine Word’s Western province, where Ramos resided, agreed: “(It’s) probably better for him to resign for the sake of the church and the community.”
Donnelly said that from now on the order will “have full disclosure of records when people move from province to province.”
Rev. Stanley Uroda, provincial of the order’s Chicago province, said that annual meetings between bishops and superiors of orders would be “a very good forum to address any need for polishing their policies.”
Parishioners at St. Mary’s, who had not known of Ramos’ past, were startled and saddened by the announcement.
Bill O’Brien, who leads a Bible study group at the church, described Ramos as a difficult man who evolved into the ideal leader for their church.
“He was nice to everyone, hugging everyone. He had a `hello’ for everyone. He became the absolute perfect pastor,” O’Brien said. “When they told us he had resigned, there were tears, a lot of tears. We’re all broken-hearted. I hope and pray we get someone like him.”
Another case uncovered this week also involved San Bernardino and a recommendation.
The Boston Globe reported Sunday that a priest had been transferred from Boston to the San Bernardino diocese even though he had faced decades of sexual abuse complaints.
A lawsuit charges that Rev. Paul R. Shanley repeatedly raped a boy during the 1980s when he was pastor of a church in Newton, Mass.
Lincoln said that the diocese had received a letter in 1990 from the bishop, informing them “Father Shanley was a priest in good standing.”
