Fr. Antonio Gonzalez – Diocese of Baton Rouge

| Jul 16, 2021 | Abuser Profiles, Catholic Church

Fr. Antonio Gonzalez

Diocese of Baton Rouge (Oblates of Mary Immaculate)

Ordained: 1957

Laicized: 1987

Died: 2016

Assigned as follows:

  • 1958 St.Augustine (Laredo, TX)
  • 1959-1960 Our Lady of Guadalupe (Brownville, TX)
  • 1960-1963 Our Lady of Guadalupe (Austin, TX)
  • 1963-1966 Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (Houston, TX)
  • 1966 Sacred Heart (Uvalde, TX)
  • 1966-67 Our Lady of Guadalupe (Galveston, TX)
  • 1968-69 St. Thomas the Apostle (Huntsville, TX)
  • 1971-1973 St. Margaret Queen of Scotland (Albany, LA)
  • 1973 Servants of the Parcelete (Jemez Springs, NM)
  • St. Patrick Catholic Church (Sabinal,TX)
  • St. Jospeph-Knippa (Knippa. TX)
  • Chaplain at Baptist Memorial (San Antonio, TX)
  • St. Joseph Catholic Church (Eagle Pass, TX)
  • Our Lady of Fatima Church (Houston, TX)
  • 1981-83 Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (Houston, TX)
  • 1983-84 Christian Holiday House (Dickinson, TX)

Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. Antonio Gonzalez:

In 2019, the Diocese of Baton Rouge identified Fr. Antonio Gonzalez as the subject of credible allegations of sexual abuse of one or more minors or vulnerable adults which allegedly occurred within the Diocese of Baton Rouge after its formation in 1961. The allegation made against him was noted to have been received in June 2002. The alleged abuse was said to have occurred during the 1970’s when Gonzalez was assigned to St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Catholic Church in Albany, LA. No further information was released about the gender/age of the victim or the number of people who have come forward.

In 2008, the Missionary of Oblates of Mary Immaculate of Texas, Inc. paid a $1.35 million settlement to a woman who claims that she was abused, impregnated, and abandoned by Fr. Gonzalez when she was 17 years old. At the time of the abuse, Fr. Gonzalez was the assistant pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Houston. The victim first met Fr. Gonzalez in 1981 when she was living in an abandoned house in Houston with her mentally ill mother. He groomed her with gifts and attention. The lawsuit also alleges that church officials were aware of Gonzalez’s sexual attraction to young girls as early as 1963 and that his superiors ordered him to seek psychiatric help. According to the suit, “Father Tony has confirmed that he fathered at least four illegitimate children, but perhaps many other, by impregnating minor girls when he was a priest.”

In February of 2019, Fr. Antonio Gonzalez was named on the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston clergy disclosure list. No further information was released by the diocese about the gender/age of the victim or the number of people who have come forward.

According to media reports, when Fr. Gonzalez was assigned to the Archdiocese of San Antonio, he began a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old and fathered two children with the teen. In one of his final transfers during his priesthood, Fr. Gonzalez raped an underage girl and later married her once he left the priesthood.

Fr. Antonio Gonzalez died in 2016.

Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana.  If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Louisiana, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Baton Rouge may now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us.  Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Louisiana and nationwide.  We can help.

Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.