52 Catholic priests in Colorado, including iconic Father Woody, abused 212 victims, further investigation finds

DENVER (CO)
Colorado Sun

December 1, 2020

By Jesse Paul and Jennifer Brown

A supplemental report on abuse in Colorado’s three Catholic dioceses includes allegations against Charles Woodrich, who founded a homeless shelter and was called Denver’s “patron saint of the poor”

Investigators digging into child sex abuse in Colorado’s three Catholic dioceses have identified an additional 46 victims dating back to 1950 and nine more abusive priests, including an iconic Denver advocate for the homeless and poor.

The new revelations were released Tuesday by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office in a 93-page supplemental report that marks the end of a 22-month investigation into the church covering the past seven decades.

The latest report includes allegations that a chaplain sexually abused children living in a Pueblo orphanage in the 1950s, and that a Denver priest whipped a child and fondled him during an estimated 1,000 instances of abuse over five years in the 1970s.

It also names Charles Woodrich, better known as Father Woody, a revered priest who founded a homeless shelter and was called Denver’s “patron saint of the poor.” Father Woody established Haven of Hope, where people who are homeless can go for hot meals and showers, and founded the Samaritan House, a homeless shelter in downtown Denver. He died in 1991.

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