Posted on 06/20/2002 2:59:18 PM PDT by SMEDLEYBUTLER
Colorado Priest To Be Suspended Under New Policy
New Charter Adopted By Bishops
Posted: 10:33 a.m. MDT June 20, 2002
DENVER -- At least one Roman Catholic priest from Colorado will be suspended over sexual abuse allegations following the adoption of a new policy by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, diocese officials said.
The unidentified priest, who is retired from the Pueblo Diocese, will not be allowed to perform ministerial duties while allegations are investigated by law enforcement authorities, officials said.
Under a charter adopted last week by United States bishops, if sexual abuse allegations are proved, the priests would permanently lose the right to wear clerical garb, say Mass publicly or present themselves as priests.
The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People calls for any priest or deacon to be suspended from performing ministerial duties while an allegation of sexual abuse is being investigated. If one act of past, present or future abuse is proved, the charter calls for permanent removal from priestly duties.
Bishops approved the charter last week during a conference in Dallas that sought to address a growing scandal in the Catholic Church. The charter went into effect immediately, though it would need Vatican approval to become church law.
In Dallas, Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill., the president of the bishops' group, said the church had retained abusive priests, neglected to report abuse, worried more about scandal than openness and treated victims as adversaries. He offered apologies on behalf of bishops.
On Wednesday, Mark Plewka, chancellor for Bishop Arthur Tafoya of the Pueblo Diocese, said a look at diocese files revealed the allegation against one retired priest.
He said a civil lawsuit had been filed against the man, but it never went to trial.
Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Cheyenne, which includes all of Wyoming, was studying diocesean records of retired priests but had not identified any wrongdoing, said spokeswoman Paula Glover.
Retired Cheyenne Bishop Joseph Hart, who is under investigation by police on suspicion of sexual abuse, is on unofficial administrative leave. Hart, who was bishop from 1978 until last fall, was accused of molesting a Wyoming boy more than 20 years ago.
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