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DeFede: A New Black Eye For Miami Catholic Church
PEMBROKE PINES (CBS4) ―
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Father David Dueppen and Beatrice Hernandez
CBS
Since the story of a priest fathering a stripper's baby broke this weekend, the tale of Father David Dueppen has generated interest across the country and focused unwanted attention on the Archdiocese of Miami.
After weathering the storm around Father Alberto Cutie, the latest scandal threatens to be far more sordid and embarrassing to the church since it knew Father Dueppen had been involved with the woman, Beatrice Hernandez, as early as 2005.
It has long been a frequent criticism of the Catholic Church that it is slow to clean up their messes. For years the church was criticized for failing to recognize a problem with its priests molesting children. And while the case of Father Dueppen and Beatrice Hernandez involves two consenting adults, the church's response is the same: pay off the victim and move the priest to a new parish.
In this case, Hernandez said she began her affair with Father Dueppen nearly seven years ago after the priest came into the strip club Porky's. They began dating and eventually lived together before breaking up in 2005.
Hernandez claims she separated from the priest after he began insisting she visit swinger clubs with him so he could watch her have sex with other women. He told her it was the only way for her to excise the demons from her soul.
"He said, `The only way the spirits are going to leave you is if you get involved with women.' I said, `David I'm not into women. I've never been there and I don't like that. I'm really serious with you. I feel something very special for you, especially with you being a priest and I've been raised Catholic. I feel something very special for you so why do we have to go there?'"
After she left Father Dueppen, Hernandez notified the church about the affair and claimed her religious faith had been exploited by Father Dueppen.
In 2006, Hernandez said the church paid $100,000 to quietly settle the case before its details became public. The church confirms that it paid Hernandez for an inappropriate affair between Father Dueppen and Hernandez, but they would not confirm the amount.
After the payment was made, Father Dueppen was relocated from St. Francis de Sales on Miami Beach to a new parish in Broward County.
The Archdiocese issued a statement Monday defending their handling of father Dueppen. After the initial affair with Beatrice Hernandez became known three years ago, Father Dueppen was placed on a 13 month leave where "received professional and spiritual assistance, including his obligation to live faithfully the celibate life and all other aspects of the moral life."
The Archdiocese said Father Dueppen was only assigned to a new church after they received "a favorable professional report and a renewed assurance by Father Dueppen that he was capable and willing to live the celibate life."
Unfortunately, Father Dueppen's assurances of celibacy fell short and he renewed the affair with the woman in 2008 culminating with the birth of their child – Marilyn Epiphany Hernandez – on January 27.
Father Dueppen could not be reached for comment.
"The thing that strikes me as particularly galling is you have a person (Father Dueppen) that has exhibited a certain type of behavior," said attorney Michael Feiler, who represents Hernandez. "But rather than taking corrective action against this person, they pay the victims to go away and then they just ship him up the road 15 miles. And lo and behold within a very short period of time he's doing it again."
Since the story first broke, the church's response has been to downplay it as much as possible. Asked if anyone from the church had questioned Father Dueppen about the allegations he was the baby's father, a church spokeswoman said the Archdiocese wasn't planning on doing any type of internal investigation and that it had no interest in even contacting Father Dueppen to see if the allegations were true.
Spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta said the church would leave it up to the legal system to sort out.
Hernandez said she ran into that same attitude when she tried contacting the Archdiocese. She said after she gave birth to baby and started feeling threatened by Father Dueppen; she contacted the church for help.
"I kept calling and leaving my number," she said. But no one seemed interested.
Hoping to reach Bishop Favalora, she could only get as far as a church secretary.
"I need help," she recalled saying. "Okay, David is getting very violent. I don't know what to do. I'm here with the baby. I'm trying to get help. I need you guys to please help me."
She said after several calls for help, she received her reply.
"`Do not call here anymore!' and she hangs up the phone on me," Hernandez said.
Church spokeswoman Agosta said the only calls the Archdiocese received were a few weeks ago after Dueppen was placed on administrative leave. She described her calls as "incessant and rude."
Hernandez's attorney said the church clearly doesn't understand its responsibility to the community.
"This case is about personal responsibility and this case is hopefully about the church finally waking up and understanding that sometimes you have to take corrective actions," he said, "you can't just sweep things under the rug."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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