BISBEE – The former pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Douglas was sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing an 11-year-old altar boy during confession in 1982.
The Rev. Julían Sanz, a priest with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson and the founder of an orphanage in Mexico, was handcuffed and led out of the Cochise County Superior Court courtroom here Thursday morning.
Sanz’s sentencing marked the third time this year that a priest who once worked in the Tucson Diocese was sent to prison for sexually abusing a young parishioner.
The diocese said Thursday that Sanz, a native of Spain, will never again be allowed to act as a priest. Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas said he plans to begin the process for defrocking Sanz, which would mean a permanent removal from the priesthood. The diocese will also stop sending Sanz a monthly paycheck.
“We pray for those who have been harmed by the misconduct of Rev. Sanz, for Rev. Sanz and for the Catholic community of Douglas. Our prayers are for peace of mind and heart and for healing and reconciliation,” Kicanas said in a prepared statement.
