PUEBLO (CO)
TheDenverChannel.com
POSTED: 9:17 am MDT September 22, 2005
UPDATED: 11:40 am MDT September 22, 2005
PUEBLO, Colo. -- A former Catholic priest from Pueblo committed suicide Wednesday with a gunshot to the chest, the Pueblo County coroner has ruled.
Andrew Burke, 62, was found dead in his yard at about 8 a.m., with a newly-purchased revolver that still had the price tag on it, police said.
Burke's wife told police he had been depressed since allegations of sexual abuse were made against him a year ago.
The allegations were reported to Pueblo police by representatives of the Catholic Diocese of Pueblo. Monsignor Mark Plewka, chancellor of the diocese, and human resources Director Teresa Farley reported to Sgt. Troy Davenport that they had been contacted by a man who accused Burke of molesting his nephew in the early 1970s, when Burke was a priest assigned to St. Pius X.
Plewka was out of town, and Farley did not return a phone message on Wednesday.
Posted by kshaw at September 22, 2005 05:58 PM