Dallas Bishop Edward Burns addresses the media Aug. 19, 2018, during a news conference. The Rev. Edmundo Paredes is accused of molesting teens and stealing from his parish, St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Dallas, where he had served for 27 years. (Photo: Rex C Curry, The Dallas Morning News via AP) 
 
 DALLAS – A Dallas priest accused of molesting teens and taking at least $60,000 from his parish now is missing, Roman Catholic Church officials said. 
 
 At St. Cecilia Catholic Church, where the Rev. Edmundo Paredes had served for 27 years, parishioners said Sunday that he may have fled to his native Philippines, where he has been taking annual vacations. 
 
 Bishop Edward Burns told parishioners over the weekend the Dallas Diocese has hired two private investigators to try to track Paredes down. 
 
 "Now that we know of his criminal sexual acts, we want to get a handle on him," Burns said. 
 
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 The church first began investigating Paredes in May 2017 over allegations he stole $60,000 to $80,000 in cash from the parish. The priest admitted to the financial misconduct, was suspended from ministry and removed from the church in June 2017, the bishop said. 
 
 St. Cecilia had a celebratory Mass for Paredes on June 1, 2017, according to a St. Cecilia Catholic School Facebook post. And another Facebook post, now not available publicly, called it a retirement celebration. 
 
 The Rev. Edmundo Paredes prepares for communion June 5, 2008, at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Dallas. Paredes, a Texas priest now accused of molesting teens and stealing from his parish, has gone missing. (Photo: Juan Garcia, The Dallas Morning News via AP) 
 
 But in February, church officials received allegations that Paredes had molested three teen boys more than a decade ago. Diocese officials immediately filed a report with law enforcement agencies to launch a criminal investigation, Burns said. 
 
 The diocese wasn't aware of the sexual-assault allegation when Paredes was suspended, diocese spokeswoman Annette Gonzales Taylor said. 
 
 "The allegations were found to be credible," Burns said. 
 
 Paredes can no longer administer the sacraments or otherwise represent himself as a priest, the bishop said. 
 
 Burns disclosed the allegations to parishioners Sunday after consulting with the Diocesan Review Board, a group of nonclergy Catholics who counsel the diocese on matters involving the sexual abuse of minors. The information wasn’t disclosed earlier because officials didn’t want to hinder the police investigation or compromise the victims’ identities, Gonzales Taylor said. 
 
 However, after a Pennsylvania grand jury released a nearly 900-page report Tuesday detailing allegations of sexual abuse against 301 priests, Burns said telling parishioners at Parades' former church was necessary. 
 
 Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests contend that Burns waited too long. 
 
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 "Why would Bishop burns suppress this crucial information?" Lisa Kendzior and Paul Petersen, Dallas chapter leaders of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said in a statement. "Was it to protect the diocese from scandal? 
 
 "What about concern for the safety of children and the need to comfort any survivors?" they asked. "Where is the transparency that the Catholic bishops promised?" 
 
 After Mass on Sunday, Sylvia Segura, 61, told The Dallas Morning News that she broke down in tears because the news about Paredes caught her by surprise. 
 
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 When she heard the bishop's letter being read from the pulpit, Segura said she expected a statement of solidarity with the Pennsylvania grand jury report. 
 
 "Just to find out that it was in our very own house that it had happened," she said. "It was very, very hard." 
 
 Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow WFAA on Twitter: @wfaa 
 
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 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2BuQzEV ||||| The Catholic Diocese of Dallas faces harsh criticism for how it handled allegations of sexual abuse against one it's priests. 
 
 The alleged abuse by now-former Reverend Edmundo Paredes happened 10 years ago, but it was only brought to the diocese's attention six months ago. He was a longtime priest at St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in Oak Cliff. 
 
 It all comes on the heels of a bombshell Pennsylvania grand jury report about hundreds of alleged predator priests accused of preying on children. 
 
 At least three men came forward with allegations against the Dallas former priest. 
 
 The abuse allegations came to the diocese attention in February. It was the diocese that immediately reported them to police. But some are furious the public is just now learning about it and that the accused priest is missing 
 
 One man who says he was victimized as a child by a Dallas priest did not want his name used or face shown. But he is speaking out on behalf of other potential victims through a nationwide group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests. 
 
 “I would like to say I’m surprised, but I’m simply not,” the man said. “This has been a dirty secret that’s been going on for decades.” 
 
 On Sunday, Dallas Bishop Edward Burns had this to say when a reporter asked specifically why it took six months for the diocese to go public with allegations of sex abuse against Paredes. 
 
 “Because when all of this occurs, there are many steps that have to fall into place,” he responded. 
 
 Burns said these situations have to be approached methodically. 
 
 The recent report by a Pennsylvania grand jury highlighted by State Attorney Josh Shapiro and exposing hundreds of predator priests influenced Bishop Burns’ decision. 
 
 “Some ask ‘Well, is it because of the grand jury report that prompted the Diocese of Dallas to bring it forward now?’ And the answer is yes,” Burns said. 
 
 “It begs the question if Josh Shapiro did not have his action from Pennsylvania, would this have been news on Sunday?” the victim asked. “And the simple answer is no.” 
 
 Late Monday afternoon, the Diocese of Dallas clarified the Bishop’s Sunday comments in a press release. It says Bishop Burns was “prepared to announce the allegations in March” but there was “concern for the victims” who asked that it not be made public. 
 
 The statement goes on to say Bishop Burns tried to be sensitive to the victim’s request. But when the Pennsylvania report became public, he decided to inform the public about Paredes. 
 
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 Dallas Diocese suspends priest over sexual abuse allegations, theft 
 
 ||||| Paredes is no longer permitted to function or present himself as a priest, the bishop said. 
 
 Burns decided to disclose the allegations to parishioners Sunday after a meeting Thursday with the Diocesan Review Board, a group of non-clergy Catholics who counsel the diocese on matters involving the sexual abuse of minors. He said Sunday that he wanted to make the allegations public after last week's report from Pennsylvania that said more than 1,000 children had been abused by clergy since the 1940s. 
 
 Lisa Kendzior and Paul Petersen, local chapter leaders of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said in a joint statement that they found it disturbing Burns didn't tell parishioners about the allegations sooner. 
 
 
 
 "Why would Bishop Burns suppress this crucial information? Was it to protect the diocese from scandal?" the written statement said. "What about concern for the safety of children and the need to comfort any survivors? Where is the transparency that the Catholic bishops promised?" 
 
 Petersen said he had been abused by Richard Johnson, a priest who was suspended in 2006 when he was at St. Patrick Church in Lake Highlands. Before St. Patrick, Johnson served at St. Cecilia. The diocese later settled cases with three men Johnson abused in the 1970s and '80s. 
 
 Petersen said he was skeptical of the timing of the weekend announcement. 
 
 "The fair question that every Catholic — and all the citizens of Dallas should ask — is what's special about today, that the revelation was made?" he said. 
 
 The information was not disclosed earlier because Burns "did not want to hinder [the police] investigation or compromise the anonymity of victims," a church spokeswoman said.
– The Catholic Church has hired two private investigators to track down a former Dallas priest who disappeared months before sexual abuse allegations against him surfaced. Pastor at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Oak Cliff for 27 years, Rev. Edmundo Paredes stands accused of molesting three boys in their midteens between 10 and 20 years ago, though the exact period is being withheld to protect the victims’ identities, reports the Dallas Morning News. Paredes, 69, was removed from St. Cecilia in June 2017 after allegedly stealing $60,000 to $80,000 in cash. This February, church officials also learned of sexual abuse allegations, which were reported to police and found to be credible, Bishop Edward Burns told parishioners on Sunday. "I recognize this diocese cannot cover its ears, its eyes, its mouth. We need to look at this head on," Burns said. Still, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests questions the delay in releasing the information. Officials initially said the allegations weren’t disclosed earlier because of a police investigation. Late Monday, however, the Diocese of Dallas said a Pennsylvania grand jury report describing more than 1,000 victims of abuse by clergy since the 1940s had motivated the disclosure after victims objected to an announcement in March, per Fox 4. Officials suspect Paredes is in his native Philippines, which he visited annually, per WFAA. Per the Morning News, authorities there say they are unaware of his location.