1,700 Catholic Priests Accused Of Child Sex Abuse Are Living Under The Radar In The U.S.
Dodge City diocese names priests with allegations of sexual abuse against children
BY MICHAEL STAVOLA
Amelia Mavis Christnot
The problem of child sexual abuse in organizations that give open access to children like the Boy Scouts, Little League and churches is a major concern for parents.
And while most of the other organizations lack the resources to cover up the crimes, the international nature and power of the Catholic Church has allowed abuse and abusers to be hidden for many years.
A recent investigation by the Associated Press (AP) reported:
"Nearly 1,700 priests and other clergy members that the Roman Catholic Church considers credibly accused of child sexual abuse are living under the radar with little to no oversight from religious authorities or law enforcement."
AP said the group of "priests, deacons, monks and lay people" now:
teach middle-school math
counsel survivors of sexual assault
work as nurses
volunteer at nonprofits aimed at helping at-risk kids
live next to playgrounds and day care centers
foster and care for children
And while some have not been found violating laws, dozens have "committed crimes including sexual assault and possessing child pornography."
The report comes in the wake of some United States Catholic dioceses calling for the publication of the names of clergy with a "credibly accused" of sexual abuse. But many of those clergy members left the church to become lay people and most were never charged with a crime.
In contrast to the dioceses calling for enhanced accountability, both the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Church have lobbied against changes to statutes that would give victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to accuse their abuser and seek justice. Many cases never go to criminal court due to relatively short statutes of limitation for sexual crimes and the abused are also blocked from suing their abusers and the organizations that hid their crimes.
AP's report was based on the names released by those dioceses. Over 5,100 clergy members' names were released. Nearly 2,000 remain alive.
Of those alive, AP found nearly 1,700 had little or no restrictions or oversight. 76 of the of the almost 2,000 could not be located by the AP. The balance of the 2,000 were found to be living under some form of supervision.
AP's analysis found that more than 310 of the 2,000 were charged with crimes when they were priests. 65 were with various crimes committed after leaving the church and most were convicted. 46 of the 65 were charged and convicted of crimes of a sexual nature.
While the vast majority of U.S. dioceses released their records, the over 5,100 names released do not include the records of 20 dioceses that say they plan to release the names from their diocese nor 10 dioceses that have made no announcements yet. Two dioceses released partial information.
The credible accusations reported include inappropriate comments and unsolicited hugging up to and including sexual contact and assault. Because of the broad scope of the accusations, encompassing non-criminal acts as well as criminal acts, tracking which individuals are a clear and present danger becomes muddied.
But after centuries of abuses within the Catholic Church, seeing them take some accountability is a first step in the right direction. But first steps become meaningless when additional steps don't follow.
Dodge City diocese names priests with allegations of sexual abuse against children
The Catholic Diocese of Dodge City has released the names of priests and seminarians with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of children.
The release Tuesday follows suit with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, which about two weeks ago released the names of staff who had substantiated claims. Both follow a February announcement from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation that the agency, at the request of Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, would assign six special agents to investigate reports of sexual abuse at four Catholic dioceses in Kansas.
The names will appear in the diocese’s Oct. 6 newspaper edition along with comments from Bishop John B. Brungardt and an explanation of how the substantiated allegations came to be.
“I apologize to victim survivors of child sexual abuse, especially those who were abused by priests and seminarians of the Catholic Diocese of Dodge City. You have suffered from this terrible sin. I beg your forgiveness. I pray our Lord Jesus will give His healing love to you and your families,” Brungardt wrote. “I pray for just punishment, remorse, and conversion of the perpetrators and concealers of sexual abuse. I thank law enforcement, attorneys, judges, health professionals and all who help victims of this heinous crime.
Brungardt also encouraged victims to contact law enforcement.
These are the priests who have substantiated allegations against them within the Diocese of Dodge City:
Donald Fiedler: Served in the diocese from September 1961 to January 1988 at several locations: St. Rose, Great Bend; St. Joan of Arc, Elkhart; St. Helen, Hugoton; St. Alphonsus, Satanta; St. Dominic, Garden City; Mary, Queen of Peace. Allegations from incidents in the mid-1980s. Removed as priest in 2007.
John Haberthier: Served in diocese from 1950 to 1973 at several locations: St. Rose Hospital, Great Bend; St. Theresa, Dighton; St. Michael, LaCrosse; St. Timothy, Satanta; Bob Wilson Hospital, Ulysses; Immaculate Heart of Mary, Windthorst; St. Patrick, Plains. Allegations in the Dodge City Diocese and the Pueblo Diocese in Colorado for incidents in the late 1960s to the mid-1970s. Deceased
Augustine Hanchak, CPPS: Served in the diocese from 1963 to 1965 at St. Mary, Garden City. Deceased
Cletus (“Jerry”) Stein: Served in the diocese from 1967 to 1972 and 1975 to 1987 in several locations: St. Joseph, Ellinwood; Sacred Heart, Pratt; St. John, Hoisington; Sacred Heart Cathedral, Dodge City; St. Rose, Great Bend; St. Joseph, Greensburg; St. George, Bucklin; St. Alphonsus, Satanta; St. Mary of the Plains College, Dodge City. No longer a priest
Edward Young: Served in the diocese from 1953 to 1970 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Dodge City; Sacred Heart, Pratt; St. John the Evangelist, Hoisington; Dominican Convent, Great Bend; St. Rose Hospital, Great Bend; St. Rose Parish, Great Bend; St. Helen, Hugoton; St. Timothy, Satanta. Allegations from the 1950s and 1960s. Deceased
Here are priests who served in the diocese but had allegations elsewhere:
Orestes Huerta: Served in the diocese from 1997 to 2000 at St. Mary, Garden City and Christ the King, Deerfield. Allegations in the Diocese of Boac in the Philippines. Currently priest in the Diocese of Boac.
Mario Islas: Served in the diocese from 1988 to 1994 at several locations: St. John the Baptist, Meade; St. Patrick, Plains; St. Anthony, Liberal; Christ the King, Deerfield; St. Mary, Garden City. Allegations occurred in the Diocese of El Paso. No longer a priest.
Richard Kolega, CPPS: Served in the diocese from 1973 to 1974 and 1986 to 1991 at several locations: St. Mary, Garden City; St. Anthony, Lakin; Christ the King, Deerfield; Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dodge City. Allegations from Diocese of San Angelo in Texas. Deceased.
Donald Straub: Served in diocese from 1990 to 1991 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Dodge City. Allegations come from Archdiocese of St. Louis. No longer a priest
Joseph Thiesen: Served in the diocese from 1988 to 1989 at the Dominican Convent and Central Kansas Medical Center in Great Bend. Allegations come from Archdiocese of New York. Deceased
Seminarians with allegations during their time in the diocese:
Heleodoro (“Leo”) de Hoyos: Allegation from Oklahoma in 1997 when he was a seminarian of the Diocese of Dodge City. Dismissed as a seminarian.
Joel McClure: Dismissed as a Diocese of Dodge City seminarian in August 2015. Pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of transportation of child pornography in March 2016.
The names were released after a four-month audit by retired Kansas District Court Judge Robert J. Schmisseur. The review included more than 600 files of diocese staff dating back to when the diocese started in 1951, according to an article released with the names.
It said the audit did not reveal any allegations of sexual misconduct that had not previously been made known to a diocese review board established in 1993.
Diocese of Tulsa: Report released on credible allegations of child sexual abuse by clerics
by Ashley Ellis, KTUL
TULSA, Okla. — The Catholic Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma has released the names of priests and deacons they say are credibly accused of sexually abusing minors over the last 46 years.
Bishop David A. Konderla published a report of all clerics who, since the beginning of the diocese in 1973, have been credibly accused. The report names nine priests and two deacons.
While the list of names is comprehensive, Bishop Konderla said, "Moving forward, if there is a new allegation against a priest or deacon, you have my word that we will cooperate with civil authorities, follow our policies, and if determined to be a credible allegation, will add their name to this report.”
The only pending case is an investigation into allegations against Father Joe Townsend. It is still ongoing.
The diocesan response to the report was provided by Bishop Konderla in a YouTube video posted on their site. You can watch it here.
The report names the following diocesan priests:
Fr. Harry Bartnik (Died in 2000)
Fr. Edmund Byrne (Died in 1991)
Fr. Lawrence Courtright (Permanently removed from active ministry in 2002)
Mr. Timothy Daley (Died in 2004)
Mr. Kenneth Lewis (Permanently removed from active ministry in 2002; dismissed from the Clerical State in 2007)
Fr. Vincent McGouldrick (Died in 1994)
Fr. John Jangam (Returned to India)
Fr. James Greenwell (Died in 2012)
Fr. Robert Poandl (Died Jan. 2019)
The report names the following diocesan deacons:
Dcn. Sid Starr (Permanently removed from active ministry in 2009)
Dcn. Morris Dale Vanderford (Died in 1998)
Former W.Va. bishop Michael Bransfield is under police investigation for alleged abuse of 9-y/o girl on church trip
Shawn Boburg and
Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post
Police in Washington are investigating an allegation that former West Virginia bishop Michael J. Bransfield inappropriately touched a 9-year-old girl during a church trip to the nation’s capital in 2012, according to a subpoena and a person familiar with the matter.The subpoena, delivered Tuesday to church officials in West Virginia, seeks any abuse complaints against Bransfield as well as documents related to the September 2012 pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a copy reviewed by The Washington Post shows. The trip was led by Bransfield and attended by parishioners from across West Virginia, church documents show.
Bransfield’s accuser, now 16, told authorities in July that the incident occurred when they were alone in a room at the National Shrine during the pilgrimage, according to the person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. The subpoena indicates that police are investigating potential child sex abuse but provides no details of the alleged encounter.
There is more on this story on the Washington Post
Catholic priest says clergy living in a “state of persecution” after child abuse scandals
Aside from the obvious error in listing child abuse scandals as 'after', for they are certainly nowhere near done, the clergy claiming they are being persecuted just reveals how utterly unChristian some of these priests are. Their concern, as it appears to have always been, is for themselves, with no obvious concern for the victims, the children, several generations of children, who were persecuted by tens of thousands of paedophile priests.
The Daily Mail reports that during BBC’s ‘Inside the Vatican,’ Don Luigi, a priest who has lived in the Vatican since he first arrived as a 12-year-old altar boy, claims members of the clergy live in a “kind of persecution by the media.”
“The Church, in particular, is attacked from all sides,” he said. “Hearing about ministers who are accused of abuses doesn't make life easy for all the other priests.”
How many of those 'other priests' turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children?
“Unfortunately we risk the Church only being seen from that point of view, but there are many beautiful examples of priests who really give their lives to God every day.”
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, a Liverpool native who now serves as the Holy See Foreign Minister, said that the church has “radically” changed in recent times.
“One would always like a certain permanence in one's life,” Archbishop Gallagher said, “but it is certainly an indication that things have changed and the question is really, have they changed for the better?”
Another priest, Father Hans Zollner, a psychologist who studied at sexual deviances while in university, is optimistic that the Catholic Church can navigate the scandals and has set up postgraduate training courses in child protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
“This is the first university that offers an academic degree in the area of safeguarding,” Father Hans said, who added: “This is going to stay with us for a very long time and we need to face it. If you don't face it actively it will come back to us in one way or another, so either you take it on or it will take you on.”
“We need specialists that are really capable of not only executing guidelines, putting them into place, but also developing them, updating them with dialogue, with science, with police, with the law system in the country.
“We need people who are more knowledgeable, competent and more prepared to do whatever needs to be done to make sure young people are safe.”
“There is much need for preparing a different generation of people through education and information. This is not an immediate solution for anything but it is the start for a better future.”
You can download BBC’s two-episode documentary ‘Inside the Vatican’ here.
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