Cardinal Daniel DiNardo presides over a Mass of Ordination for seven candidates for the priesthood at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, June 1, 2019. DiNardo, leading the U.S. Catholic Church’s sex abuse response, has been accused of mishandling a case where his deputy allegedly manipulated a female parishioner into a sexual relationship, even as he counseled her husband and solicited their donations.
AP Photo / David J. Phillip
Vatican correspondent Nicole Winfield’s five-month investigation revealed the stunning allegations: A high-ranking Catholic priest had a sexual relationship with a Houston woman for more than a year, counseled her husband on their marital problems, solicited and obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from the couple and continued to hear her confession, telling her she was absolved of her sins for their relationship.
The church’s response was equally surprising: despite telling the woman and her husband the priest would never counsel women again, he was transferred to an East Texas church two hours away after a few months of therapy. The transfer was approved by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, who is overseeing the church’s response to sexual abuse allegations in the United States.
The fallout from Winfield’s revelations was swift: Before publication the accused priest was suspended, and after the story moved church officials reopened their inquiry into the handling of Laura Pontikes’ allegations. DiNardo cited details in the AP story – namely Monsignor Frank Rossi’s alleged absolution of sins related to his intimate relationship with Pontikes – as a “new development” that merited further inquiry. Winfield knew from experience: not only is absolving an accomplice one of the most serious crimes in church law, and one that can lead to excommunication, but that the relationship need not have been consummated for there to have been a possible canonical crime. The story moved days before DiNardo began a meeting of U.S. bishops to approve new measures for accountability over sexual abuse, including trying to restore the faith of rank-and-file Catholics after a new wave of abuse and cover-up allegations.
An illuminated sign stands outside St. Michael Archangel Catholic Church, April 11, 2019. The Houston church’s handling of the Pontikes case marked a new frontier in the Catholic abuse scandal because it blended issues of sex, money and faith – and how the hierarchy dealt with exploitive relationships involving adults and priests.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Laura Pontikes closes her eyes while seated in front of an antique oil painting of Jesus during an interview in the prayer section of her Houston apartment, April 13, 2019.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo presides over a Mass of Ordination for seven candidates for the priesthood at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, June 1, 2019.
AP Photo / David J. Phillip
Monsignor Frank Rossi stands outside Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Woodville, Texas, April 14, 2019. The Galveston-Houston archdiocese acknowledged a sexual relationship between Rossi and parishioner Laura Pontikes, but asserted that it was consensual.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Crosses and statues adorn confessional rooms at St. Michael Archangel Catholic Church, one of Houston's wealthiest parishes, April 13, 2019. Laura Pontikes first met Monsignor Frank Rossi in a confessional at this church in December 2007. The Galveston-Houston archdiocese acknowledges a sexual relationship between Pontikes and Rossi, who continued to hear her confession, telling her she was absolved of her sins for their relationship.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Laura Pontikes pauses as her husband George holds her hand after an interview in their Houston apartment, April 13, 2019. From beginning to end, George Pontikes said, the church has failed them in its response to allegations of sexual misconduct. “They are doing exactly what the pope told them not to do: They are defending Frank Rossi,” he said. “They are not defending the victim.”
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Laura Pontikes pauses as her husband George holds her hand after an interview in their Houston apartment, April 13, 2019.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Laura Pontikes closes her eyes as she pauses during an interview in the prayer section of her Houston apartment, April 13, 2019.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
The weekend home of Laura and George Pontikes stands at center in Anahuac, Texas, April 12, 2019, with a guest cottage at left and a chapel, right. The family had built the guest cottage for Monsignor Frank Rossi at their weekend retreat. The Galveston-Houston archdiocese has acknowledged a sexual relationship between Rossi and parishioner Laura Pontikes, but asserted that it was consensual.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Laura Pontikes pauses during an interview in the prayer section of her Houston apartment, April 13, 2019.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Monsignor Frank Rossi blesses a child during Holy Communion at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Woodville, Texas, April 14, 2019. Rossi was transferred to the church after allegations of a sexual relationship with an adult parishioner at Houston’s St. Michael Archangel Catholic Church.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Monsignor Frank Rossi stands outside Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Woodville, Texas, April 14, 2019.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo presides over a Mass of Ordination for seven candidates for the priesthood at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, June 1, 2019.
AP Photo / David J. Phillip
Laura Pontikes holds her eyeglasses while her dog, Coco, watches her in their Houston apartment, April 13, 2019.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
A chapel stands on the property of a weekend home owned by Laura and George Pontikes in Anahuac, Texas, April 12, 2019.
AP Photo / Wong Maye-E
Winfield realized the Pontikes case marked a new frontier in the abuse scandal because it blended issues of sex, money and faith – and how the hierarchy dealt with exploitive relationships involving adults and priests, and in this case, the longtime No. 2 monsignor in the Houston church.
Winfield realized the Pontikes case marked a new frontier in the abuse scandal, blending issues of sex, money and faith – and how the hierarchy dealt with exploitive relationships involving adults and priests.
To tell the story, Winfield relied on emails Pontikes exchanged with Rossi and her therapists, interviews with the woman, her husband, as well her knowledge of church law and its response to abuse allegations in the U.S. Pontikes had initially wanted to remain anonymous, but eventually agreed to go on the record. Winfield – and a team that included national writer/video journalist Allen Breed, global enterprise photographer Wong Maye-E and correspondent Nomaan Merchant with his Houston colleagues, photographer David J. Phillip and video journalist John Mone – meticulously planned how to tell the story for each format, including on-camera interviews with Pontikes and her husband, photos and video of DiNardo and Rossi at church events and even the guest home the Pontikeses built for Rossi at their weekend home.
The tapestry of words, photos and video laid out the allegations and their importance at a time when the church is grappling with its response to sexual abuse of children and adults and increased scrutiny by prosecutors. It also showed the personal side of the story, including Pontikes’ continued devotion to the church. The package played prominently in “The Reckoning,” AP’s ongoing coverage of the U.S. Catholic Church’s crisis of sexual abuse and cover-up, and its failure to hold church leaders accountable.
For breaking new ground with an investigation that cast doubt on a top church official’s handling of a case involving startling allegations of abuse, Winfield, Breed, Wong and Merchant wins AP’s Best of the Week award.