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A former priest accused of sexually abusing at least five
minors in two states is HIV positive, church officials said Thursday.
The Fort Worth
diocese says the Rev. Philip Magaldi recently told another priest that he has
the virus that causes AIDS, Pat Svacina, a representative for the Catholic
Diocese of Fort Worth said, according to the Houston Chronicle. Fort Worth diocese
officials said they believe that Magaldi has been HIV positive since at least
2003.
After learning about Magaldi’s condition, the diocese
alerted the alleged victims and the parishes at the Diocese of Providence,
Rhode Island, where he served for nearly four decades, Svacina said.
Magaldi, 71, has denied all the accusations even after the
Fort Worth Diocese found him “guilty of sexual exploitation” in one internal
investigation and documented several other credible reports of misconduct.
Magaldi was removed as a priest in 1999 amid claims of
sexual misconduct in Providence, R.I. where he served from 1960 to 1990, and Fort Worth, where he
served from 1990 to 1990 and 1993 to 1999. He has been living in a private retirement
home in Forth Worth since 2003.
Father Magaldi is the second abusive Fort Worth priest to be confirmed
HIV-positive. The first was the Rev. James Hanlon, who died in 1990 after
battling the virus, alcoholism, and liver disease.
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