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Rev. Randolph "Randy" Nowak, OFM.Cap – Assignment History

Summary of Case: Randolph "Randy" Nowak was ordained for the Capuchin order in 1952. He spent over twenty-five years of his early ministry working with high school-aged seminarians at St. Mary's Seminary in Garrison NY. He appears to have subsequently moved for a brief time to the Capuchin residence in Hawthorne, followed by several years at the Order's Provincialate in White Plains. He returned to the minor seminary in Garrison for five years beginning in 1975, leaving there for a year in Yonkers, where he resided at Capuchin monastery and parish while working as a hospital and nursing home chaplain.

In 1979 Nowak was transferred to Guam. There he was a parish priest, assisting at many Capuchin parishes and pastoring a few, in Agat, San Isidro and Ordot. He was assigned to Hawaii in 1988, assisting and leading parishes in Ewa Beach, Pahala and Waikane. There is a gap in his assignments 1994-1996, after which he is noted in the Official Catholic Directory to be retired in Hawaii until 2001. The following six years show Nowak to be back in Guam, no longer retired, assisting at an Agat parish and as the "Senior Friar" of the Capuchin Fraternity.

In 2008 a man wrote in a letter to the Capuchin's New York provincialate that Nowak molested him when the man was a young seminarian in the 1960s at St. Mary's in Garrison. Nowak, in turn, wrote in an email to his former student, apologizing for "what happened between us." Nowak's accuser also said that he told a Capuchin priest in the 1970s about the abuse, but that nothing was done. In 2008 the priest in question said he didn't "recall such a conversation... ."

According to his Order, Nowak's faculties were removed in 2004 due to past allegations that "arose elsewhere." Nowak has been living in retirement since at least 2007 at the St. Fidelis Friary in Agaña Heights. The Capuchins agreed to pay Nowak's accuser's fees counseling fees, beginning in 2006.



Born
: July 21, 1925
Ordained
: September 6, 1952


   

Start Stop Assignments Town/Allegations State Position Notes

1952

Archdiocese of New York

Archbishop was Francis Joseph Spellman (1939-1967), followed by Terence James Cooke (1968-1983.)

1969 St. Mary's Seminary, Mary Immaculate Friary

Garrison-on-Hudson (Glenclyffe)

In a February 2008 letter a man told the Capuchin provincial in New York that Nowak had molested him in the 1960s, when the man was a young student at St. Mary's.

NY Prefect 1952-1959

The seminary was also called Glenclyffe High School. It had 111-64 students.

After the provincial spoke to Nowak about the former seminarian's disclosure in February 2008, Nowak emailed the man, writing, "I was glad to finally contact you after my talk with Fr. Mike Banks. Again I apologize for what happened between us. I was fully at fault. Many times I have prayed to die because of my guilt. I am also sorry to hear that it has severely upset your life. I have kept you in my daily prayers and will continue to do so. My life too has hit the bottom. It has been messed up because I went through the same problems. Sincerely, Randolph."

1969 1970         Nowak is indexed in the 1970 Directory as at his previous assignment, but he is not listed as there in the New York pages.
1970 1971 Capuchin Fathers Residence Hawthorne NY   The 1971 Directory indexes Nowak as in Hawthorne, but he is not listed as there in the New York pages.
1971 1973 Capuchin Fathers Provincialate, St. Conrad Friary White Plains NY chaplain  
1973 1978 St. Mary Friary Garrison (Glenclyffe) NY  

St. Mary's had 53 minor seminarians.

Nowak's accuser said he told Capuchin priest Regis Armstrong about the abuse in the mid-1970s, but that Armstrong did nothing. In 2008 Armstrong said he didn't recall such a conversation at the time."

1978 1979 Sacred Heart Yonkers NY   Sacred Heart parish had an elementary school with 584 students and a high school with 531 boys and 804 girls.
1978 1979 St. John's Hospital and Hudson View Nursing Home Yonkers NY chaplain  

1979

Diocese of Agaña

Bishop was Felixberto Camacho Flores (1971-1985).

1980 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Agat Guam 2/2

Our Lady of Mount Carmel had an elementary school with 164 boys and 166 girls, and a junior high school with 61 boys and 71 girls.

1979 1980 St. Anne's San Isidro Guam    
1980 1988 San Juan Bautista Ordot Guam 1/1 While in Guam, Nowak is said to have "assisted on a temporary basis at almost every Guam parish staffed by the Capuchins."

1988

Diocese of Honolulu

Bishop was Joseph Anthony Ferrario (1982-1993).

1991 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Ewa Beach HI 2/2 Our Lady of Perpetual Help had a school with 228-214 students, and a CCD program with 385-317 students.
1991 1992 Holy Rosary Pahala HI 1/1 Holy Rosary had a CCD program with 90 students.

1992

Ferrario was succeeded as Honolulu bishop by Francis Xavier DiLorenzo (1994-2004).

1994 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Waikane HI 1/1 Our Lady of Mount Carmel had a CCD program with 63-90 students.
1994 1996     HI   The 1995 and 1996 Directories index Nowak as at the Friary in Agaña, which shows him as in Hawaii, but he was not found listed in the Hawaii pages.
1996 2001 Retired   HI    

2001

Archdiocese of Agaña (elevated to archdiocese in 1984)

Archbishop was Anthony Sablan Apuron, OFM.Cap. (1986-).

2007 Our Lady of Mount Carmel Agat Guam 3/3, 2/2

Our Lady of Mount Carmel had a CCD program with 315-220 students.

Nowak is not listed in the Directories as retired beyond 2002.

2001 2007 Capuchin Fraternity Agat Guam   Per the Capuchin's New York provincial in 2010, Rev. John Gallagher, Nowak's faculties were revoked in 2004 "for reasons relating to allegations that arose elsewhere (not in Guam)."
2007 2016 St. Fidelis Friary Agana Heights Guam   The Capuchin's agreed to pay Nowak's accuser's counseling fees, beginning in 2006.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1953-2016).

SNAP Names Priest for Alleged Sexual Abuse, By Mindy Aguon, KUAM, March 23, 2010
SNAP Presents Allegations Of Abuse Committed By Priests Who Served On Guam, By Mana Silva Taijeron, Pacific News Center, March 23, 2010
Guam Pedophile Priests Identified, By Therese Hart, Marianas Variety, March 24, 2010
News Release, Archdiocese of Agana, April 22, 2010



Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Nowak's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on April 28, 2017.


 
 

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