COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News
August 19, 2005
Two men who grew up Catholic in Colorado sued the Archdiocese of Denver on Thursday, contending a priest sexually abused them for years when they were children in the 1960s and that church officials knew he was a child molester.
Delbert C. Nielsen III, now in his 50s and living in New Mexico, and Tom Koldeway, now in his 40s and living in Alaska, filed their separate lawsuits in Denver District Court.
They accuse the archdiocese of covering up the activities of the priest, the Rev. Harold Robert White, for decades by repeatedly transferring him from parish to parish after receiving complaints that he had molested children.
Both lawsuits said the archdiocese kept its knowledge about White secret in order to protect itself from liability.
"We obviously do not comment on issues that are under litigation or pending litigation and at the moment we haven't even had an opportunity to read the complaint," said Fran Maier, chancellor for the Denver archdiocese.
"That's the only response we're going to be making today."
White, ordained in 1960, was removed from the priesthood last year.