Two more people have come forward accusing a now-dead priest of molesting them about 30 years ago, the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth announced Monday. The accusations were made after the diocese announced last week that the Rev. Francis A. Zimmerer had recently been accused of sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy in 1978 at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Decatur.
The diocese said it has offered counseling to that victim, who lives out of state and is now 42.
The two other people said they were abused on separate occasions while Zimmerer served as the parish administrator of the same Decatur church from 1975 to 1981. Both victims were minors at the time.
Before working in Decatur, Zimmerer worked in the Catholic Diocese of Dallas when Fort Worth was part of that diocese. He left Decatur in 1981, returned to the Benedictine Order based in Subiaco, Ark., and died in 1983.
The Fort Worth diocese said it believes the accusations are credible and has offered counseling to the other two victims as well, officials said.
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(Source: chron.com)