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  8 Area Priests Accused in '04

By Eric Gorski
Denver Post [Denver CO]
February 16, 2005

The Denver Roman Catholic archdiocese fielded child sex-abuse allegations in 2004 against eight priests who served within its 24-county boundary, according to a report made public as part of wide-ranging reforms that followed the national clergy-abuse crisis.

While some of the allegations stretch back to incidents more than three decades ago, one dates to the 1990s and is under investigation by the archdiocese.

None of the accused priests is in ministry in the northern Colorado archdiocese, said Sergio Gutierrez, an archdiocese spokesman.

In a letter to his flock in this week's Denver Catholic Register, Archbishop Charles Chaput announced that for the second consecutive year, outside auditors found the archdiocese fully compliant with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. U.S. bishops adopted the charter in 2002 to quell the abuse scandal.

The 2004 audit results of all 194 U.S. dioceses are to be released Friday in Washington. The dioceses were required to disclose any new allegations of child sexual abuse fielded in 2004.

The state's two other Catholic dioceses, based in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, also reported receiving passing grades. The Pueblo diocese reported fielding three allegations against priests in 2004.

Chaput revealed in his letter that allegations were made last year against three archdiocesan priests; allegations against two of them involved incidents more than three decades ago, he wrote. The claims against the third priest, which dated to the 1990s, are under investigation by the archdiocese, Chaput wrote.

Also in 2004, allegations were leveled against five religious order priests who served in the archdiocese. Those allegations were turned over to the priests' respective orders for action, the archdiocese says.

"Our commitment to fully educating our adults and young people about the gravity of sexual abuse will continue," Chaput wrote. "We understand and deeply regret the suffering caused by this sin and crime, and we welcome future audits as a means to help prevent the terrible damage of abuse in the years ahead."

The archdiocese declined to release details about the allegations, including the names of the accused, whether any of the priests had died, the number of victims, the dates of the allegations, the parishes or geographic areas where the priests served, or how the allegations came to light.

Gutierrez said details were being withheld "for the privacy and respect of the victims and all the individuals involved and their families."

He emphasized that each allegation was taken seriously and vetted through diocese policies. The archdiocese has a review board primarily composed of laypeople that investigates clergy sex-abuse claims.

"The diocese takes very significant action if there are credible allegations," Gutierrez said.

Under a policy adopted in the early 1990s, the archdiocese must alert civil authorities of any "credible claims" of child sexual abuse against archdiocesan priests or other employees.

Gutierrez said that policy has been followed, but he declined to discuss what happened with cases brought to light in 2004, including which jurisdictions were contacted. He said he didn't know whether any criminal charges have been filed.

A canvass Tuesday of a half-dozen district attorneys offices spanning the archdiocese - including the Denver DA's office - found no evidence of active cases against Catholic priests. The statute of limitations on sex assaults in Colorado is 10 years.

The archdiocese would not identify which religious orders it had contacted about claims against their priests. Representatives of three orders with large Denver presences - the Jesuits, Capuchins and Vincentians - said Tuesday that they had not fielded complaints in 2004 against any of their priests in the Denver archdiocese.

In March, the Denver archdiocese announced that it could substantiate claims against seven diocesan priests who abused 21 victims since 1950. The archdiocese said it had spent nearly $1 million on settlements and counseling during that period.

The piecemeal fashion of releasing information does a disservice to victims and people in the pews, says David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

"Without the names, parents and parishioners and good priests have to worry needlessly," Clohessy said. "And the victims and witnesses who could corroborate or even criminally prosecute are helpless and in the dark. People can't protect themselves from numbers. They can protect themselves from predators if they know who they are."

Troy Gray of Vail, SNAP's Colorado leader, took a more positive view. Like most Colorado SNAP members, the ski resort engineer was victimized elsewhere - a priest sexually assaulted him in Arizona and California when he was in his mid-teens, he says.

"New allegations coming to light and investigations being done is definitely a move forward," Gray said. "It's going to help other victims who have not come forward build up that courage."

The auditors, who visited Denver in September, said the archdiocese met and exceeded charter requirements in key areas, singling out the hiring of a special adviser to Chaput on charter compliance issues.

The auditors also gave the archdiocese high marks for "background checks (and) safe environment training for all employees" as well as safe-environment training for "all volunteers who have contact with children - regardless of its regularity."

The Pueblo diocese fielded allegations in 2004 against two diocesan priests and one religious order priest, said Monsignor Mark Plewka, chancellor of the diocese. He would not go into any more detail.

The Colorado Springs diocese fielded no new complaints in 2004, said Ed Gaffney, head of pastoral services.

 
 

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