Dodge City diocese names priests with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of children

Hayes Post
October 2, 2019

https://bit.ly/2nGAupz

Retired Kansas District Judge Robert J. Schmisseur conducted a comprehensive review and audit of all files in the Diocesan Chancery office related to priests, deacons and seminarians, according to a release presented Wednesday by the Dodge City Catholic Diocese.

More than 600 files were reviewed during the four-month audit. The audit included the identification of substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor by a member of the clergy or a seminarian. The findings of the auditor’s report have been shared with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Kansas Attorney General’s office.

The audit did not reveal any allegations of sexual misconduct that had not previously been made known to the Review Board. Following the audit and the Diocesan Review Board’s review, Bishop Brungardt offers this list of substantiated allegations:

PRIESTS WITH ALLEGATIONS ARISING IN THE DODGE CITY DIOCESE

Donald Fiedler (not permitted to function as a priest since 2007) Ordained for the Wichita Diocese May 1959; became a priest of Dodge City Diocese August 1964. Served in the Dodge City Diocese September 1961- January 1988: St. Rose, Great Bend; St. Joan of Arc, Elkhart; St. Helen, Hugoton; St. Alphonsus, Satanta; St. Dominic, Garden City; Mary, Queen of Peace, Ulysses. Allegations arising from incidents in the Diocese of Dodge City in the mid-1980s. Allegations determined substantiated.

John Haberthier (deceased) Ordained for the Wichita Diocese May 1948. He became a priest of the Dodge City Diocese when it became a diocese in 1951. Served in the Dodge City Diocese August 1950-December 1973: Sacred Heart Church/Cathedral, Dodge City; 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. Served in the Pueblo Diocese in Colorado November 1973-July 1977 and in the San Bernardino Diocese in California April 1979- 1987. Allegations arising in the Dodge City Diocese and the Pueblo Diocese for incidents in the late 1960’s thru the mid-1970s determined to be substantiated and public announcements were made in the Dodge City Diocese in December 2006.

Augustine Hanchak, CPPS (deceased) A member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Served in the Dodge City Diocese August 1963-August 1965 at St. Mary, Garden City. Recent allegations arising in the Dodge City Diocese for incidents in the 1960’s have been reported and determined substantiated.

Cletus (“Jerry”) Stein (no longer a priest) Ordained for the Dodge City Diocese December 1966. Served in the Dodge City Diocese August 1967-September 1972 and April 1975-June 1987: 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. Served in the Archdiocese of Denver Sept. 1972-July 1974. Served in the Diocese of Amarillo beginning July 1987 and became a priest of Amarillo in 1993. Allegations determined substantiated.

Edward Young (deceased) Ordained for the Dodge City Diocese May 1953. Served in the Dodge City Diocese June 1953-August 1970: 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. He became a priest of the Sioux City Diocese in 1974. Allegations arising in the Dodge City Diocese in the late 1950s-early 1960s. Allegations determined substantiated.

PRIESTS WHO SERVED IN THE DODGE CITY DIOCESE WITH ALLEGATIONS ARISING OUTSIDE THE DODGE CITY DIOCESE

Orestes Huerta (priest of the Diocese of Boac, Philippines) Served in the Dodge City Diocese from September 1997 to September 2000 at St. Mary, Garden City and Christ the King, Deerfield. A report was received of allegations of incidents that occurred in the Boac Diocese after Huerta returned to the Philippines from the Dodge City Diocese. Public announcements were made in the Dodge City Diocese in February 2010. No allegations received from his time in the Dodge City Diocese.

Mario Islas (no longer a priest) Ordained for the El Paso Diocese May 1970. Served in the Dodge City Diocese December 1988-February 1994: St. John the Baptist, Meade; St. Patrick, Plains; St. Anthony, Liberal; Christ the King, Deerfield; St. Mary, Garden City. He is on the “list of credible accusations” of the El Paso Diocese. Public announcements were made in the Dodge City Diocese in January 2019. No allegations received from his time in the Dodge City Diocese.

Richard Kolega, CPPS (deceased) A member of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. Served in the Dodge City Diocese September 1973-August 1974 and January 1986-October 1991: St. Mary, Garden City; St. Anthony, Lakin; Christ the King, Deerfield; Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dodge City. He is on the “list of credible accusations” of the San Angelo Diocese. No allegations received from his time in the Dodge City.

Donald Straub (no longer a priest) Ordained for the St. Louis Archdiocese May 1975. He served in the Dodge City Diocese from September 1990-January 1991 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Dodge City. He is on the “list of substantiated allegations” for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. When the Archdiocese determined allegations to be substantiated, public announcements were made in the Dodge City Diocese May 2004. No allegations received from his time in the Dodge City.

Joseph Thiesen (deceased) Ordained a priest for the New York Archdiocese May 1953. Served in the Dodge City Diocese October 1988-May 1989 at the Dominican Convent and Central Kansas Medical Center in Great Bend. He is on the “list of credible accusations” for the New York Archdiocese. No allegations received from his time in the Dodge City Diocese.

DODGE CITY DIOCESAN SEMINARIANS

Heleodoro (“Leo”) de Hoyos Allegation from Oklahoma in 1997 when he was a seminarian of the Dodge City Diocese. He was dismissed as a seminarian.

Joel McClure Due to law enforcement investigation and with the cooperation of the Diocese of Dodge City, he was dismissed as a seminarian in August 2015. He pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of transportation of child pornography in March 2016.

If you suspect abuse

If you suspect abuse or neglect of a child in Kansas and the child is in immediate danger, call 911 or local law enforcement. If you have suspicion a child is being abused or neglected, make a confidential report to Kansas Department for Children and Families Protection Report Center, 800-922-5330 or to the KBI Hotline, 800-KSCRIME (800-572-7463), or by emailing ClergyAbuse@kbi.ks.gov.

If you suspect sexual abuse by Church personnel, in addition to making a report to the proper civil authorities, please contact Mr. Charles Befort, the diocesan Review Board representative who receives and follows up on reports. His contact information is crbefort@cox.net, 620-285-3219. In addition, Mr. Befort will offer the help of the Assistance Minister whose goal is to be a listening ear and to promote healing.

The Review Board is a consultative body of lay Catholics and one priest- representative who advises the Bishop in his assessment of allegations of sexual abuse, reviews diocesan policies for dealing with sexual abuse of minors and offers advice on all aspects of sexual abuse cases retrospectively and prospectively.

The Assistance Minister’s role is to aid in the pastoral care of persons who claim to have been sexually abused as minors by clergy or other church personnel, whether the abuse was recent or occurred many years in the past.

All allegations are deemed credible. A substantiated allegation is defined as an allegation that, based upon the facts of the claim, meets one or more of the following thresholds: Is not specifically denied or is acknowledged/admitted to by the accused; is corroborated with other evidence or by another source and/or; involves multiple accusations. The facts and circumstances that substantiate an allegation vary from case to case. A finding that an allegation is substantiated is not the equivalent of a finding of guilt in a criminal proceeding or liability in a civil proceeding.

The Dodge City Diocese and Bishop Brungardt regret and apologize for the hurt that has been inflicted and the pain caused especially to those who were most vulnerable. We ask forgiveness and seek to help those suffering from sexual abuse.