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| 13 Denver-based Catholic Friars with Credible Sexual-abuse Allegations Identified
By Noelle Phillips
Denver Post
March 28, 2019
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/03/28/catholic-sex-abuse-scandal-denver-colorado/
A Catholic order of Franciscans based in Denver on Thursday released the names of 13 friars or former friars who have been accused of sexual abuse of a minor or a vulnerable adult.
The Capuchin Franciscans Province of St. Conrad said two of the 13 friars are dead and five have left the order. Nine men on the list spent time serving in Colorado, according to an audit report on the Province of St. Conrads website.
Six current members are among those facing credible allegations, but they are not allowed to participate in active ministry, the audit report said.
The Denver province is the latest religious order to name credibly accused clergy as civil and religious authorities pursue numerous investigations across the country. In Colorado, the attorney generals office initiated a review last month of personnel files within the Archdiocese of Denver.
The Rev. Joseph Mary Elder, a St. Conrad province spokesman, said all of the cases uncovered during the audit have been turned over to the Denver District Attorneys Office or to district attorneys in jurisdictions where the abuses occurred. He did not know how many victims were involved or how many incidents have been discovered.
The audit was ordered in 2018 by the Rev. Christopher Popravak, the provincial minister, who hired three outsiders to conduct the review.
We recognize we made mistakes in the past, Elder said. In order for the church to heal and move forward, there has to be transparency.
The provinces list includes a priest accused of molesting a teen girl at Denvers Marycrest High School in the 1980s. The woman first reported the Rev. Ben Colucci to the religious order in 2015 and to the Archdiocese of Denver, which removed him from ministry in the state in 1993 for reported misconduct. Colucci worked in Colorado from 1970 to 1993, including stints at the high school, Annunciation Parish and the Samaritan House.
Seven of the friars listed in the audit had not previously been named as accused abusers. The list also includes friars who had previously been sued or charged criminally.
In announcing the audits findings, Popravak wrote a public letter to apologize for past transgressions and to ask for forgiveness. Popravak recounted personal experiences with abuse, including the revelation that a classmate in an East Coast seminary had been abused and then, after The Boston Globe undercovered widespread abuse within the church, Popravak learned his classmate had been sent to prison for being an abuser.
So many people have been harmed, Popravak wrote. There is so much grief: the grief of victims, the grief of families of victims and families of abusers, the grief of scandalized parishioners, and even the grief of priests and friars who are faithful, dedicated servants but who are reeling with the constant disclosures about so many perpetrators. We cannot allow this to ever happen again.
The Province of St. Conrad is an order of Franciscan friars who minister to poor and marginalized people. They serve in hospitals, soup kitchens, schools, parishes and as missionaries.
The St. Conrad provinces territory includes Colorado, Kansas and Missouri and the Diocese of Belleville, Peoria and Springfield in Illinois and two houses in San Antonio, Texas. Another Capuchin Franciscan province based in Detroit released a similar audit in 2013.
The order does not fall under the authority of the Archdiocese of Denver, but the friars serve at the permission of the bishop.
On Thursday, the archdiocese attempted to separate itself from the order.
The Capuchin Province of St. Conrad serves within the Archdiocese of Denver with the permission of the Archbishop of Denver, but all matters relating to its friars are handled by the province. Any criminal allegation reported to the archdiocese involving a member of a religious order would be immediately reported to local authorities and the religious order, Mark Haas, a diocese spokesman wrote in an email.
However, the auditors reviewed files at the archdiocese that pertained to the personnel files at the province.
The review of allegations against Colorado priests spearheaded by the attorney generals office will not include the friars named Thursday. That review is limited to diocesan priests.
Review of allegations by outside investigators is crucial in learning the full scale of abuse, said Jeb Barrett, director of the Denver chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
Were seeing progress, he said.
The Denver-based province used an outside group to audit 226 personnel files and other records that had been retained in its offices. It did not inspect files of employees and volunteers. Every member was allowed to speak with auditors.
The auditors also inspected plans that provide guidance for how the province reports and investigates allegations and how it monitors members who are under supervision after allegations have been deemed credible. They reported that the province follows its guidelines.
An allegation is deemed credible when investigators determine that abuse more likely than not has occurred, the news release said. But the release noted that inclusion on the list does not imply the allegations are true or that the accused has been found guilty of a crime or is liable for civil claims.
Four of the 17 allegations investigated by the order were found not credible, according to the audit.
Auditors reviewed Provincial Council documents dating back to 1977 and found that, prior to 2004, records on abuse allegations involved high levels of confidentiality and a paucity of detail. However, the province has gotten better, especially after 2013, when auditors found improved documentation and better sharing of information within the leadership team.
The province encourages anyone who has been abused by a Capuchin member to contact the appropriate civil authorities and the Safe Environment Coordinator, Jason Faris, at 303-477-5436 or jason.faris@capuchins.org.
The Province of St. Conrad provided a list of the accused and subdivided the names on whether they had one credible allegation or multiple allegations:
One credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor:
Gregory Beyer
Birth: 1935
Status: Deceased (2010)
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1970s
Pastoral assignments:
St. Bonaventure Friary, Hays, Kan.
Sacred Heart Friary, Atwood, Kan.
St. Fidelis Friary, Victoria, Kan.
St. Conrad Friary, Lawrence, Kan.
St. Joseph Friary, Hays, Kan.
Annunciation Friary, Denver
Solanus Casey Friary, Colorado Springs
David Jones
Birth: 1962
Status: Dismissed from Order in 1987
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1986
Pastoral assignments: None
Benignus Scarry
Birth: 1944
Status: Left the Order in 2016
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1980s
Pastoral assignments:
St. Joseph Friary, Hays, Kan.
St. Bonaventure Friary, Hays, Kan.
St. Crispin Friary, St. Louis
St. Conrad Friary, Lawrence, Kan.
San Damiano Friary, Denver
San Antonio Friary, Denver
St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Denver
Our Lady of Angels Friary, Colorado Springs
Felix Shinsky
Birth: 1941
Status: Removed from ministry / Under supervision
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1977
Pastoral assignments:
St. Mary Friary, Herman, Pa.
St. Fidelis Friary, Victoria, Kan.
St. Conrad Friary, Annapolis, Md.
Mother of Divine Shepherd Friary, Mendi, Papua New Guinea
Queen of the Friars Minor Friary, Kagua, Papua New Guinea
St. Fidelis Friary, Nipa, Papua New Guinea
Santa Clara Friary, Denver
St. Elizabeth Friary, Denver
St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Denver
Charles Wolfe
Birth: 1949
Status: Dismissed from Order in 1987
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1976
Pastoral assignments: St. Bonaventure Friary, Hays, Kan.
Good Shepherd Friary, Shawnee, Kan.
St. Joseph Friary, Hays, Kan.
Holy Cross Friary, Thornton
More than one credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor:
Bennett Colucci
Birth: 1930
Status: Removed from ministry / Under supervision
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1970s-1980s
Pastoral assignments:
Fraternidad San Conrado, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Fraternidad San Miguel, Utuado, Puerto Rico
Fraternidad Santa Cruz, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
Fraternidad San Joaquin, Adjuntas, Pa.
Fraternidad Santa Maria de los Angeles, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
Annunciation Friary, Denver
Alverno Friary, Denver
Holy Cross Friary, Thornton
Santa Clara Friary, Denver
St. Joseph Friary, Hays, Kan.
St. Fidelis Friary, Victoria, Kan.
Ron Gilardi
Birth: 1947
Status: Removed from ministry / Under supervision
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1990s
Pastoral assignments:
St. Bonaventure Friary, Hays, Kan.
St. Joseph Friary, Hays, Kan.
St. Fidelis Friary, Victoria, Kan.
David Gottschalk
Birth: 1943
Status: Removed from ministry / Under supervision
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1970s
Pastoral assignments:
St. Fidelis Friary, Victoria, Kan.
St. Francis Friary, Pittsburgh, Pa.
St. Francis Friary, Washington D.C.
Good Shepherd Friary, Shawnee, Kan.
St. John Friary, Lawrence, Kan.
St. Conrad Friary, Allison Park, Pa.
St. Francis Friary, Denver
Our Lady of Angels Friary, Colorado Springs
Julian Haas
Birth: 1938
Status: Removed from ministry / Under supervision
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1970s-1980s
Pastoral assignments:
St. Mary Friary, Herman, Pa.
St. Bonaventure Friary, Hays, Kan
St. Joseph Friary, Hays, Kan.
St. Lawrence of Brindisi Friary, Rome
Annunciation Friary, Denver
Capuchin Historical Institute Friary, Rome
St. Crispin Friary, St. Louis
St. Patrick Friary, St. Louis
Solanus Casey Friary, Colorado Springs
General Curia Friary, Rome
St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Denver
Our Lady of Angels Friary, Colorado Springs
Finian Meis
Birth: 1936
Status: Left Order in 1992 (Deceased)
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1960s-1970s
Pastoral assignments:
St. Fidelis Friary, Victoria, Kan.
St. Joseph Friary, Hays Kan.
Good Shepherd Friary, Shawnee Kan.
St. Conrad Friary, Kansas City Mo.
Thaddeus Posey
Birth: 1944
Status: Deceased (2013)
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1980s
Pastoral assignments:
St. Francis Friary, Washington D.C.
Annunciation Friary, Denver
Alverno Friary, Denver
St. Conrad Friary, Kansas City Mo.
St. Patrick Friary, St. Louis Mo.
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul Minn.
St. Fidelis Friary, Victoria Kan.
Daniel Schartz
Birth: 1942
Status: Left the Order in 1980
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 1970s
Pastoral assignments:
St. Bonaventure Friary, Hays Kan.
St. Joseph Friary, Hays Kan.
More than one credible allegation of sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult:
Matthew Gross
Birth: 1935
Status: Removed from ministry / Under supervision
Estimated timeframe of abuse: 2000s-2010s
Pastoral assignments:
Our Lady of the Angels Friary, Erave Papua New Guinea
St. Conrad Friary, Burani Papua New Guinea
St. Francis Friary, Tari Papua New Guinea
Mary Queen of the Friars Minor Friary, Kagua Papua New Guinea
St. Clare Friary, Ialibu Papua New Guinea
Mother of Divine Shepherd Friary, Mendi Papua New Guinea
St. Joseph Friary, Hays Kan.
Annunciation Friary, Denver
Solanus Casey Friary, Colorado Springs
St. Francis of Assisi Friary, Denver
Our Lady of Angels Friary, Colorado Springs
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