Brother priests who were removed by his successor

A former Catholic bishop has sent letters around the Panhandle diocese soliciting funds for three priests who were removed two years ago over sexual abuse allegations.

Leroy Matthiesen, the outspoken retired bishop of Amarillo who gained national acclaim in the early 1980s for his stance against nuclear weapons, said that he could not turn his back on the ousted priests.

“These are my friends,” the 82-year-old told The Dallas Morning News for its Sunday editions. “There’s no way I would even consider the idea of not helping them.”

In the last few months, the diocese has slashed its financial support for the three former pastors to $100 per month. The three are among a group of eight priests admitted by Matthiesen into the Amarillo diocese from 1980 to 1997 who had undergone treatment for alleged sexual misconduct.