Sacred Heart Church (Saratoga, California)

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Sacred Heart Church, is a Roman Catholic parish in Saratoga, California. The church is a part of the Diocese of San Jose in California. The current pastor of Sacred Heart is Father Gary Thomas. He has held the position since May 2006.[1]

1 History
2 Scandal
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Sacred Heart Church was established January 12, 1951 under the auspices the Archbishop of San Francisco, John Mitty. The Church's first pastor was Father Gerald Geary. The original church building was located in downtown Saratoga, however the parish quickly outgrew their original location and moved to the present location on Saratoga Avenue in 1955. Initially a rectory and parish hall were planned to be built on the new site. Two years later Sacred Heart School opened adjacent to the under construction parish hall. The hall itself would not open until 1960 when the church itself was moved to the Saratoga Avenue location. The current church was constructed in 1970 and the parish hall was converted into a gym for the school.

[edit] Scandal

In 2005 the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church struck Sacred Heart. Msgr. Al Larkin the then pastor of Sacred Heart was accused of sexually molesting a young boy earlier in his career. No criminal charges were brought, however Msgr. Larkin did have a civil suit brought against him. Father Larkin later resigned his position as pastor.

On March 31, 2006, Father Randy Benas, the parochial vicar of the parish, was accused of raping a 29 year old Oregon woman he met over the internet. The woman had been receiving advice from Father Benas and had been invited to meet with him on her way to San Diego. Father Benas allegedly arranged for them to meet at a Motel 6 where he is alleged to have made unwanted sexual advances that ended in the woman's rape. The district attorney of Santa Clara County did not pursue charges against Father Benas; however the Sunnyvale Police Department pointed out this in no way exonerates Benas and he has not returned to Sacred Heart.