MILWAUKEE (WI)
Catholic Herald
Written by Tracy Rusch, Catholic Herald Staff Thursday, 12 July 2012
MILWAUKEE — Capuchin Fr. Matthew Gottschalk, 85, cofounder of the House of Peace, retired from his position as spiritual director and moved from Milwaukee to a retirement home in Detroit on Saturday, June 17.
Amy Peterson, director of the Office of Pastoral Care & Conciliation for the Province of St. Joseph, told your Catholic Herald by telephone Monday that Fr. Gottschalk retired for a number of reasons, including his age, health and medical needs. She also said that while the Milwaukee County District Attorney office’s investigation into an allegation made against Fr. Gottschalk found no criminal behavior, it prompted the order to look at his situation.
“(The allegation) brought to light a conversation about Fr. Matthew and his deteriorating health, his age, he just lost his driver’s license – there were just a number of things,” Peterson said. “So the reason he’s not removed from minstry and he’s been retired is because he didn’t, as far as we know, we have no information about him committing a criminal act against a minor.”
Milwaukee County Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern told your Catholic Herald Tuesday that three allegations against Fr. Gottschalk came to their attention earlier this year as a result of the bankruptcy proceedings involving the Milwaukee Archdiocese: the first incident allegedly occurred in 1970, the second allegedly occurred between 1974 and 1976, and the third incident allegedly occurred in 1993.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.