Fr. Loren Riebe (Extern) – Archdiocese of Los Angeles

| Oct 20, 2020 | Abuser Profiles, Catholic Church

Father Loren Riebe

Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Ordained: 1970

Removed: 1997

Died: 2018

Assigned as follows:

  • 1970-1975      St. Anne (Santa Monica, CA)
  • 1976-1984      On duty outside the Archdiocese
  • 1975-1976      Tenejapa (Chiapas, Mexico)
  • 1976-1995      Yajalon (Chiapas, Mexico)
  • 1996                St. Maria Goretti (Scottsdale, AZ)
  • 1997-2020      Unknown

Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Loren Riebe:

According to media reports, in 2008, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles began notifying dioceses across the country that it had multiple credible allegations of child sexual abuse in the early 1970s against Father Loren Riebe. He was also accused of  sexual conduct with women, and reportedly had issues with alcohol and substance abuse.

In 1975, Father Riebe spent the next 21 years working as a priest in Mexico until he was expelled from the country in 1995, amidst allegations that he had molested teenage boys. From 1996 to 1997, he briefly worked for the Diocese of Phoenix, which published a Community Notification Statement in 2008, stating that he had been accused by multiple people of child sexual abuse in Los Angeles, from approximately 1970 to 1975.

In 1997, Father Riebe went back to Arizona to run a foundation and present mission appeals at various parishes. He was incardinated into the Diocese of San Cristobal de las Casa, Chiapas, Mexico in 2008. He was permitted to stay at St. Timothy’s Catholic Community rectory in Mesa, AZ in 2009 and in 2011, despite warnings from the Diocese of Phoenix.

Father Riebe’s name is included on the Diocese of Phoenix’s list of “Names of priests and deacons from other dioceses who may no longer serve in the Diocese of Phoenix due to an accusation of sexual misconduct with a minor.” As of 2016, it is believed he was living in Los Angeles until his death in August 2018.

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