HOUSTON — The cardinal leading the U.S. Catholic Church’s response to the sex abuse crisis has been accused of mishandling a case alleging that his then-deputy manipulated a woman into a sexual relationship, even as he counseled her husband on their marriage, heard her confessions and solicited their donations.
The allegations against Cardinal Daniel DiNardo come just a week before he presides over a meeting of U.S. bishops to adopt new measures to hold church leaders accountable for sexual misconduct or for covering it up. Laura Pontikes, a 55-year-old Houston construction executive and mother of three, told The Associated Press that DiNardo has been negligent in her case, after she reported Monsignor Frank Rossi to the Galveston-Houston archdiocese in April 2016.
Pontikes reported that Rossi, the longtime chancellor and vicar general of the archdiocese, seduced her when she came to him for spiritual counseling at a low point in her life. Pontikes gave the archdiocese and the AP seven years of emails with Rossi to show her emotional dependency on him.
“He took a woman that went into a church truly looking for God, and he took me for himself,” she said.
DiNardo initially declared her “the victim” and thanked her for coming forward, and his staff told her Rossi would never be a pastor or counsel women again, according to Pontikes. But a few months later, DiNardo allowed Rossi to take up a new assignment as pastor at Our Lady of the Pines in Woodville, Texas.
The archdiocese said Tuesday that DiNardo had handled the case “swiftly and justly.” The archdiocese said a number of comments attributed by the Pontikeses to DiNardo were “an absolute fabrication.”
The archdiocese told AP earlier that the relationship was consensual and did not include intercourse. In a statement, it said DiNardo put Rossi, 62, on leave after receiving the complaint, and returned him to active ministry without restrictions in a new diocese based on recommendations from an out-of-state “renewal” program for clergy that he had completed.
DiNardo’s archdiocese said it informed Rossi’s new boss, Beaumont Bishop Curtis Guillory, of his violation of the chastity vow and his time in the program. Also on Tuesday, after the AP alerted the church that it was preparing a story, Guillory announced he had placed Rossi on temporary leave. The leave is pending the outcome of a criminal sexual misconduct investigation launched by Houston police after Pontikes reported Rossi in August.
Rossi’s attorney, Dan Cogdell, said Rossi was cooperating fully with the investigation and had met with police, but declined further comment.
The exact focus of the investigation isn’t known, but Texas law states that sex with an adult is without consent if a clergyman exploits a person’s emotional dependency on him in a spiritual counseling relationship. Pontikes’ Catholic therapist, Dr. Ken Buckle, said in a sworn affidavit that she was in crisis after being “seduced, betrayed and ultimately sexually victimized” by Rossi.
