COLORADO
Rocky Mountain News
By Felix Doligosa Jr., Rocky Mountain News
October 22, 2005
The 13-year-old boy only wanted to use the office phone at All Souls Catholic Church to tell his girlfriend about his sister's wedding.
He heard the door shut behind him. He turned around, and saw the priest lock the door and walk toward him. He shook the priest's hand and thanked him for use of the phone.
Then, he said, the priest fondled him.
"I didn't know what to do," said the man, who is now 36.
He said he was abused by the Rev. Mark Matson, 57, who has been convicted of sex offenses in another case. He also believes the priest's religious order gave him money to stay quiet.
The man said the abuse started on his sister's wedding day in 1983 and continued for several months while Matson worked at the Englewood parish.
The man told his story to Englewood police last January and to the Rocky Mountain News this month. The Englewood police report said the incident is beyond the statute of limitations.