UNITED STATES
Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph
A little over a year ago, the Province of St. Joseph announced the initiation of an independent audit or review of our provincial files regarding the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults. The audit process has been completed and today we release the auditors’ report. The full report, an executive summary, and a number of other helpful documents, including our provincial policies and procedures, are available by clicking the green “Safe Environment” button at the Capuchin Communications website, http://sjpcommunications.org.
Upon the recommendation of the auditors, and with the support of our Provincial Review Board and Audit Work Group, we have also made the decision to publicly release the names of current, former, and deceased friars who have allegations of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult that have been confirmed by their own admission, an investigation, or what the auditors have determined to be other sufficient evidence. This is not a decision that we make lightly. It is the product of years of periodic reflection, conversation, deliberation and prayer.
We acknowledge that in today’s environment the public disclosure of even an allegation of abuse can have a negative and perhaps irreparable effect on a friar’s reputation. This is an important consideration (though not the only one) when a friar must be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. It is even weightier for those who are deceased and will never have the opportunity to defend themselves. A number of the friars on the list below were previously publicly identified, chiefly by prior media reports, court filings or other matters of public record.
The Province’s policies require that a member of the Province who has been found to have sexually abused a minor or vulnerable adult have a Supervision Plan (SP). This plan is reviewed annually by our Provincial Review Board and revised where necessary. As part of the process of developing a friar’s SP, our Office of Pastoral Care and Conciliation (OPCC) also employs the services of professionals to conduct risk assessments.
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