Five former Charlotte Catholic clergy on list of credibly accused abusers, WBTV TV (October 11, 2019)

A Catholic society of priests and brothers headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, has released a list of 11 men it believes are credibly accused of sexual abuse. The list includes five men who formerly served in Charlotte.

Glenmary Home Missioners commissioned the forensic review that gave rise to the list in 2018. The goal of releasing the list is to promote transparency and help bring about healing for the victims, Glenmary President Father Dan Dorsey stated in a letter.

“Glenmary has become painfully aware that in the past we have failed to protect minors and vulnerable adults,” Dorsey said. “In addition, we have realized how often our response to victims has been inadequate. We deeply regret these failures. We continue to seek your forgiveness for our mistakes. We are committed to healing and justice for all those involved.”

Glenmary defines a credible allegation as one in which a preponderance of the evidence suggests the allegation is true, Dorsey explains, or where there is a conviction in court or an admission of truth by the accused.

The list of 11 men includes seven priests and four brothers. It is available here.

Five of those men formerly served in Charlotte, according to the list.

Al Behm
Adelbert (Del) Holmes - Deceased
Ed Smith - Deceased
Gino Vertassich - Deceased
Tony Jablonowski

“Glenmary found information pertaining to the criminal conviction of Jablonowski, who served as a priest “on loan” with Glenmary from 1976 to 1980. The charges against Jablonowski were related to his assignment in the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, after he had left Glenmary,” the list reads.

The Charlotte Diocese sent a statement about the list, stating that their organization is looking into the accusations, and urging any possible victims to come forward:

“On Friday, the Ohio-based Glenmary Home Missioners released a list of clergy who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult. The Diocese of Charlotte is looking into the service of five clergy on that list who appear to have formerly served within our diocese. We are continuing to gather information and are currently unaware of any allegations against these clergy while serving in the Charlotte diocese. We are grateful the Glenmary religious order has released the findings of its historical review, as it is important to notify all communities in which these clergy have served. The Charlotte diocese has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse and since adopting reforms in 2002 has acted swiftly to report abuse allegations to authorities, remove clergy from ministry, and publicly report the names of those clergy found credibly accused of abuse by the diocese after investigation. We encourage anyone who has been the victim of abuse to seek help and make a report to authorities.”

Dorsey said the list could be expanded as investigations underway come to a close.