Rev. Carlton E. Whitten, s.j.-Assignment Record

Assignment Record – Rev. Carlton E. Whitten, s.j.

Summary of Case: Carlton E. Whitten was ordained a priest of the California Province of the Society of Jesus in 1961. He was a teacher at numerous Jesuit high schools in California and Arizona, and he served in parishes. During his "semi-retirement" years he worked in parishes as a fill-in priest throughout the Western U.S., while based at the Bellarmine Preparatory School Jesuit residence in San Jose, California. While temporarily assigned to a parish in White Salmon, Washington, in December 2007, Whitten was accused of inappropriately touching a 17-year-old boy. The incident was said to have occurred recently. Prior to that the parish pastor, for whom Whitten was filling-in, confronted Whitten for allegedly viewing adult pornography on his computer. Whitten left the parish and returned to California. He has since been living at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos.

Ordained: 1961

Start	Stop	Parish/Assignment	Town/Accusations	State/Country	Position	Notes
1961 San Francisco archbishop was John Joseph Mitty (1935-1961), followed by Joseph Thomas McGucken (1962-1977).	1962	Alma College	Los Gatos	CA
1962 Seattle archbishop was Thomas Arthur Connolly (1950-1975).	1963	Manresa Hall	Port Townsend	WA
1963 Sacramento bishop was Alden John Bell (1962-1979).	1965	Jesuit High School	Sacramento	CA		Jesuit High had 89-201 students, all male.
1965 San Francisco archdiocese	1972	Bellarmine College Prep.	San Jose	CA		Bellarmine Prep. had 904-1,116 students, all male.
1972 Phoenix bishop was Edward Anthony McCarthy (1969-1976), followed by James Steven Rausch (1977-1981).	1977	Brophy College Prep.	Phoenix	AZ		Brophy Prep. had 682-731 students, all male.
1977 San Francisco archbishop was John Raphael Quinn (1977-1995).	1980	St. Ignatius Prep.	San Francisco	CA		St. Ignatius Prep. had 1,183-1,209 students, all male.
1980 Sacramento bishop was Francis Anthony Quinn (1979-1993).	1987	Jesuit High School	Sacramento	CA		Jesuit High had 730-780 students, all male.
1987 Los Angeles archbishop was Roger Michael Mahony (1985-2011).	1990	Loyola High School	Los Angeles	CA		Loyola High had 1,100-1,130 students, all male.
1990 Sacramento diocese	1992	Jesuit High School Community of Sacramento	Carmichael	CA
1992	1999	Jesuit High School	Sacramento	CA		Jesuit High had 940-1,125 students, all male.
1999 Monterey bishop was Sylvester Donovan Ryan (1992-2006).	2001	San Luis Obispo Church (Old Mission)	San Luis Obispo	CA	3/4	San Luis Obispo had a preschool, and a grade school with 382-355 students. It also had a religious education program with 185-222 students.
2001	2002					Whitten is not indexed in the 2002 Directory.
2002 San Francisco archbishop was William Joseph Levada (1995-2005).	Feb. 2003	St. Agnes'	San Francisco	CA	2/6	St. Agnes' had a religious education program with 20 students.
2003	2004					Whitten's name is indexed in the 2004 Directory, but there is no assignment indicated.
2004 Phoenix bishop was Thomas Joseph Olmsted (2003-).	2007	St. Charles Borremeo	Peoria	AZ	2/2 In residence.	Whitten is referred to as "Carl E. Whitten" for this listing in the 2005-2007 Directories.
				Western United States	fill-in priest	Whitten was a fill-in priest in parishes throughout the Western U.S.
Nov. 2007 Yakima bishop was Carlos Arthur Sevilla, s.j. (1996-2011).	Dec. 2007	St. Joseph's	White Salmon • Whitten was accused in Dec. 2007 of inappropriately touching a 17-year-old boy while assigned to St. Joseph's. Whitten had been confronted several weeks earlier by the priest for whom he was filling in for allegedly viewing adult porn on his computer. Whitten was, at that point, asked to leave the parish. Whitten returned to California.	WA	fill-in priest
2007 San Jose bishop was Patrick Joseph McGrath (1999-).	Dec. 2007	Bellarmine College Prep.	San Jose	CA	Whitten was living here part-time, and not teaching.	Whitten is indexed twice in the 2007 Directory. He is referred to as "Carlton E. Whitten" for this listing. Bellarmine Prep. had 1,555 students, all male.
Dec. 2007	2012	Sacred Heart Jesuit Center	Los Gatos	CA		Whitten was removed from active ministry in December 2007, due to an allegation of a "recent incident of sexual misconduct with a minor".

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1962-2012)

• Priest Living at Bellarmine Moved after Alleged Sexual Misconduct in Washington, By Kim Vo, San Jose Mercury News, December 21, 2007
• Jesuit Priest Moved off Bellarmine Campus, Semi-Retired Cleric Is under Investigation in Sexual Misconduct Case in Washington, By Kim Vo, San Jose Mercury News, December 22, 2007
• Priest under Investigation for Alleged Misconduct, By Jane Gargas, Yakima Herald-Republic, December 22, 2007
• White Salmon Police Investigate Accusations of Sexual Misconduct Against Priest, White Salmon, January 2, 2008

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.

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 Whitten's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation 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, 2014.