Archdiocese Assailed in Molestation Case

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —  A Roman Catholic religious order reported that the Rev. James Porter “could have a fine future ahead of him” while acknowledging problems with his rehabilitation as a pedophile, according to documents provided by an attorney representing four alleged victims.

Attorney Bruce Pasternack, who represents four men who allege that they were molested by Porter during the 1960s when they were boys, said he obtained the documents from attorneys representing the Servants of the Paraclete center. Pasternack contends in suits filed by the four men that Porter molested them while he was being treated by the Servants of the Paraclete from 1967 to 1969.

“What they (the documents) demonstrate is proof positive that the archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Paraclete Center knew their children were going to be raped by Porter before they were raped,” Pasternack said last week.

Ron Wolf, chancellor for the archdiocese of Santa Fe, said: “My response is very simple. I don’t have the crystal ball that Pasternack has because I have not seen the documents.”

Eric Jeffries, an attorney with the Albuquerque law firm representing Servants of the Paraclete, disagreed with Pasternack’s characterization.

“I would say his is a pretty imaginative interpretation,” Jeffries said. “It’s certainly not right.”

Porter, who left the priesthood in 1974, is now married with four children. He was convicted in December of molesting a 15-year-old baby-sitter in Minnesota in 1987. He has been accused of molesting dozens of children in Minnesota, Massachusetts and New Mexico while a priest.

The documents provided by Pasternack indicate that Porter arrived at the Servants of the Paraclete center in Jemez Springs, N.M., in 1967. In October, 1968, Porter asked for an assignment in the Santa Fe archdiocese. In the document, a church official endorsed Porter’s application while acknowledging “his trouble was boys.”

In February, 1969, remarks in a monthly report by Servants of the Paraclete noted: “If (Porter) can learn emotional stability and self-control, he could have a fine future ahead of him.” The next sentence reads: “(He) lapsed into former failing on recent assignment in Houston, Texas.”

Porter has not been accused in court of any wrongdoing in Houston.

Subsequent reports show that Porter worked several temporary assignments in New Mexico in the spring of 1969 without incident, according to Pasternack’s documents.

In June of that year, the Servants of the Paraclete asked the archdiocese of Santa Fe to approve sending Porter to a parish in Truth or Consequences as a temporary replacement. In the letter provided by Pasternack, the Rev. John B. Feit notes that the archdiocese was provided Porter’s file.

Three of Pasternack’s clients alleged that they were molested by Porter during Porter’s assignment in Truth or Consequences.