Capuchins Release Audit Revealing Decades of Sexual Abuse
By Sharon Roznik
The Capuchin Franciscan Order has made public the names of current, former and deceased friars involved in allegations of sexual abuse. On Tuesday the Order released the results of an independent, 100-page audit recounting its own history and the sexual abuse of young people and cover-ups that spanned decades. The audit, which was ordered by the St. Joseph Province in June 2012, is said to be the first-of-its kind — a voluntary, comprehensive review regarding the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults done by a Catholic religious order. “For those who have been abused by members of the clergy and religious, their suffering is spiritual as well as emotional,” said Provincial Minister John Celichowski. “We can’t fear to bring this abuse into light.” The list of the 23 “substantiated” offenders has been posted at www.thecapuchins.org (click on the safe environment tab on left). The most recent case that came to light involved Father Dennis Druggan, who served for years as rector and president of St. Lawrence Seminary in Mount Calvary. Druggan was removed from his position in February after allegations surfaced of sexual misconduct of a minor in Montana more than 25 years ago. Druggan is still a member of the order and he is not serving elsewhere, according to the Province. He has maintained his innocence and has exercised his right to appeal his case to the Holy See (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith). The appeal is pending. The audit contains a lengthy chapter on the sexual abuse of a reported 28 students that occurred at St. Lawrence Seminary over decades. In 1992, several students came forward, stating they were abused by certain friars, according to the audit. Some SLS Capuchin faculty and administrators as well as provincial leaders had been aware for years that some of their members had sexually abused students, according to the audit. Documents contain evidence that various students reported inappropriate sexual activity and sexual abuse by friars at SLS as early as 1965. “The upheaval at SLS, beginning in December 1992 changed the Province on many levels, not the least of which was its recognition of the terrible harm that comes from sexual abuse,” the audit stated. Father Gale Leifeld (deceased), despite his abuse being reported several times, was elevated to the position of Rector at SLS in 1976. In some cases those receiving the reports claimed they did not believe the students, according to the report. From at least 1989 through 1992, the provincial minister, Father Ken Reinhart, met with several SLS victims and paid them modest amounts for counseling (usually in the range of $2,000 to $3,500) in exchange for releases of liability with confidentiality provisions, the audit reveals. Father Jude Hahn (deceased), assistant pastor at Holy Cross Parish in Mount Calvary, the parish of many town residents, also had substantiated accusations of sexual abuse, according to the audit. Others at SLS that sexually abused students included Father Baldwin Beyer (deceased), Father James Buser (deceased), Brother Thomas Gardipee (left the order), Brother Leonard Gibeault (left the order), Father Mel Hermanns (member, restricted status) and Father James LaReau (deceased), according to the report. The auditors reviewed more than 1,000 personal files of members of the order and concluded that the province’s handling of sexual abuse cases was inconsistent and generally inadequate, according to the audit executive summary. When a friar was implicated in sexual abuse the prevailing concern was to protect his priestly or religious ministry. The audit was conducted by Michael Burnett and Father Tom Doyle, a well-known critic of how the church has responded to sexual abuse. Dr. James Freiburger, a clinical psychologist, assisted. Peter Isley, of the Survivors Network, who has reported he was sexually abused as a teenager by Leifeld while at St. Lawrence, said the Capuchins are to be commended “for this earnest, if at times conflicted and confusing effort to bring transparency to this dark and deceitful corner of their organization and history.” “The report provides a very long, overdue validation to victims of Capuchins, many of whom continue to live in shame and silence, especially those who were raped and assaulted at St. Lawrence,” Isley said. He points to Hahn, recently deceased, as the most disturbing of the cases. While a faculty member at SLS and a pastor at Holy Cross, he sexually assaulted small children, according to documents and was “secreted” by the Province to Washington State. Isley said in comparison to other religious orders or diocese, the Capuchins certainly merit special recognition and credit, especially because they undertook this effort voluntarily. It remains the hope of the province that these efforts will be part of a process of ongoing reform, Celichowski said. “We cannot change the past. We can, however, change how we respond to what has happened,” he said. The Capuchins are an international community of friars modeling themselves after St. Francis of Assisi. They were established in Mount Calvary in 1857. There are currently 169 members in the St. Joseph Province. Contact: sroznik@fdlreporter.com
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