Nine other Catholic priests, including one well known for helping the homeless in Denver, have been found guilty of sexually abusing children in an updated report on sexual abuse in Colorado Catholic churches released May 1. December by State Attorney General Phil Weiser.
The late Reverend Charles B. Woodrich, known as Fr. Woody and the eight others had not been previously identified in an initial report released in October 2019 based on a review of parish records from Denver dioceses, Colorado Springs and Pueblo under an agreement between Weiser’s office and the church.
Six of the newly appointed priests died while the others were previously removed from the priesthood or retired. A homeless day shelter had been named in Woodrich’s honor several years after his death in 1991. But its name was dropped from the name Haven of Hope earlier this year after its leaders learned of the allegations. against him, said board chairman Don Gallegos. in a report.
the last report reviewed abuses reported to Weiser’s office or a church-funded reparations program since the first report was issued. It found evidence to support allegations of abuse of a further 46 children by a total of 25 priests, 16 of whom were named in last year’s report as having substantiated allegations of sexual abuse against them. A total of 212 children were abused by 52 diocesan priests between 1950 and 1999, but especially in the 1960s.
Both reviews, led by former U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer, did not examine allegations of abuse by priests of religious orders or visitors from other dioceses.
The review was launched after a Pennsylvania grand jury alleged in 2018 that more than 300 priests there had abused at least 1,000 children there over seven decades, raising questions about the extent of abuse in other states. . Unlike Pennsylvania, Colorado does not give its attorney general power to convene a grand jury, so Weiser and the church agreed to a voluntary review of his records. The church also set up and funded a reconciliation and reparations program to provide payments to people who had been abused by priests. It was administered by Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, who oversaw victim compensation for the 2012 Aurora Theater shooting and the 9/11 attacks and also ran similar programs for clergy abusers in New York City. New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California.
The program authorized the payment of $7.3 million to 79 people, according to its December 1 final report.
In a joint statement, Archbishop of Denver Samuel Aquila, Bishop of Denver Jorge Rodriguez, Bishop of Colorado Springs Michael Sheridan and Bishop of Pueblo Stephen Berg said they hope the review of Troyer and the reparations process would have brought justice and healing to the survivors.
“We remain heartbroken by the pain they have endured, we again offer our most sincere apologies for the past failures of the Church, and we promise that we will always pray for continued healing for them and their families,” they said. they stated.
The church agreed to make changes Troyer recommended, including providing victim assistance coordinators and encouraging people to report abuse directly to law enforcement. The church’s reputation would be damaged if it failed to meet its commitments, Weiser said.
