Monsignor Gerardo Jarencio Tanilong
Diocese of Orange
Ordained: 1962
Removed: 2004
Died: Unknown
Assigned as follows:
- 1985 Immaculate Conception Church (Mount Vernon, WA)
- 1986-1989 Our Lady of Lourdes (Santa Ana, CA)
- 1990-1993 St. Joachim Church (Costa Mesa, CA)
- 1994-1995 St. Boniface Church (Anaheim, CA)
- 1996-1998 St. Callistus Church (Garden Grove, CA)
- 1999-2002 Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (Santa Ana, CA)
- 2003 Administrative Leave
- 2004 Removed
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Monsignor Gerardo Jarencio Tanilong:
Monsignor Gerardo Jarencio Tanilong was ordained a priest or a diocese in the Philippines in 1962. He came to the U.S. where he was incardinated into the Diocese of Orange in 1990. According to media reports, in 2003, he was charged on counts relating to child molestation that had occurred earlier that year. He was placed on administrative leave.
In January 2004, Monsignor Tanilong pleaded guilty to charges of molesting a 15-year-old girl in the backseat of a car while her parents were in the front seat. He was sentenced to six months in jail, three years’ probation, and to register as a sex offender. Following his guilty plea, he was permanently removed from the priesthood.
The victim no longer trusts priests or attends Mass, her father said in the probation report.
“This is the one person we thought we could trust to put our faith in, our priest. …Our daughter has been scarred by this crime.”
Monsignor Tanilong’s most recent whereabouts and whether he had access to children is unknown. He had been in violation of registration requirements since October 2009. Monsignor Tanilong was listed, as deceased, on the Diocese of Orange’s list of members and former members of the clergy who have been removed from ministry resulting from a credible allegation of sexual abuse 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 Orange in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Orange now have legal options due to a temporary change in California law, 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 California and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.