Louisville archdiocese says proper steps were followed while investigating a priest

By Billy Kobin
Courier Journal
June 26, 2019

https://bit.ly/2XwRKNF

The Archdiocese of Louisville said it followed proper procedures while investigating a priest at a Highlands church who was accused of taking inappropriate photos of students.

But a national support group for survivors of clergy sexual abuse is calling on Vatican officials to discipline Archbishop Joseph Kurtz — the head of Louisville's Catholic diocese — for "recklessly and secretively" handling the investigation into the priest, who was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.

As the Courier Journal first reported Tuesday, the Rev. Jeff Gatlin resigned earlier in June as pastor at St. Francis of Assisi, 1960 Bardstown Road, to deal with health issues, according to the Archdiocese of Louisville.

Gatlin, 51, had been accused of "inappropriate picture taking" of students during a May 13 field day celebrating the end of the parish school year, officials said.

The church's school serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

Archdiocesan spokeswoman Cecelia Price told the Courier Journal in an email that officials received one "specific complaint about a possibly inappropriate photo and some general concerns from other parents."

Price said the photos were intended to be used for an eighth-grade video and that the photo related to the specific complaint "showed nothing inappropriate."

"It was a shot of two students in a conference room working on room set-up," Price said, declining to provide more specifics on the complaint.

One week after the field day, St. Francis of Assisi School principal Steve Frommeyer shared an email with parents in which Gatlin wrote that a "number of concerns have been raised and accusations have been made about my actions of taking pictures of students at the field day activities."

"Though I do not believe I have done anything wrong, I have asked Archbishop Kurtz to appoint a temporary administrator so that I can cooperate with a review of what occurred, as well as my overall ministry as pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish," Gatlin wrote. 

His comments were also included in a May 24 bulletin sent to parishioners.

"You are in my prayers. Please keep me in your prayers," Gatlin wrote.

"Per archdiocesan policy," Price said, Frommeyer called Child Protective Services to begin an investigation. CPS representatives reviewed the complaints and spoke to parents of students, Price said.

During the investigation, Gatlin "entered into treatment for health issues," according to the Archdiocese of Louisville.

Price said Gatlin has had a "variety of health issues over many years."

In a May 31 email to parishioners, Graffis and parish administrator Scott U'Sellis wrote that Gatlin was "getting the help he needs dealing with chemical dependency and depression."

Frommeyer also shared the May 31 email with parents of students at the church's school.

In a June 17 email, Kurtz told St. Francis of Assisi parishioners that the investigation into Gatlin was complete and that CPS investigators said "they do not have information that would lead to a substantiated case of any criminal activity."

"As previously shared, with his permission, Father Gatlin entered a medical treatment program last month and is receiving the care he needs," Kurtz wrote. "Last week, he informed us that he would like to resign as pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish to focus fully on his health and recovery. I have accepted his resignation."

Gatlin, who was ordained in 2000, had served at St. Francis of Assisi since August 2017.

According to the Record, the archdiocesan newspaper, Gatlin was previously assigned to 13 churches in Kentucky, including Louisville parishes St. Margaret Mary, St. James, St. Albert the Great, Sts. Simon and Jude, St. Peter the Apostle and St. Polycarp.

While Price said archdiocese officials followed all policies in responding to and investigating sexual abuse complaints, David Clohessy, the former executive director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, was critical of Kurtz's actions.

He said in an email that Kurtz had "recklessly and secretively" dealt with Gatlin and didn't alert the public.  

"For at least a month, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz has hidden accusations that Fr. Jeff Gatlin took 'inappropriate’ photos of youngsters," Clohessy said. "It seems these unsettling allegations have come to public attention despite Kurtz’ self-serving actions.

"It’s dead wrong for Catholic officials to violate their repeated pledges of ‘transparency’ and their national policy of ‘openness’ like this."

Clohessy said hiding complaints of potential abuse give wrongdoers "ample time to intimidate victims, threaten whistleblowers, discredit witnesses, destroy evidence, fabricate alibis and even flee the state or country.

"Adding insult to injury, Kurtz also let Fr. Gatlin voluntarily resign, rather than be suspended, and put his 'spin' on the serious accusations in a message to parishioners," Clohessy wrote.

But Price told the Courier Journal that the archdiocese followed its "policies on sexual abuse" in responding to the complaints against Gatlin.

Those steps, according to Price, include the priest stepping aside after a complaint was received, authorities being notified and parishioners made aware of the investigation.

Next, an investigation was conducted, and lastly, parishioners were notified of the results, Price said.

Clohessy said SNAP recognizes that a state agency investigated and found no criminal wrongdoing.

"But there’s been plenty of wrongdoing by Kurtz," Clohessy wrote. "Vatican officials should discipline him." 

Kurtz was also criticized earlier this year as not doing enough to protect survivors of clergy sex abuse. But in February, he and Catholic Church leaders in Louisville released a list of 48 priests and members of religious orders who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse.

The February release marked the first time Louisville's archdiocese had published such a list. It came as a growing number of Catholic dioceses from Atlanta to Indianapolis issued similar lists following a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report that found state church leaders protected more than 300 "predator priests."