Herald Writer
SEATTLE — An Everett priest accused of molesting at least a dozen teen-age boys and young men has resigned from active ministry, Catholic church officials said Friday.
The Rev. John Cornelius, who has worked at Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic churches in Everett for four years, apologized to his accusers, the church and others.
"I acknowledge my responsibility for my failures and want to express my deep sorrow for what I have done. I ask you for your forgiveness," Cornelius said in a prepared statement ready by Bill Gallant, a spokesman for the Seattle Archdiocese.
The molestation incidents mentioned by his accusers occurred between 1968 and 1985, prior to Cornelius’ arrival in Everett.
Archbishop Alex Brunett said he found the complaints against Cornelius credible and turned them over to authorities.
"It saddens me greatly to know that many persons’ lives have been disturbed or damaged by the actions of one of our priests," Brunett said in a statement also read by Gallant.
Brunett said the allegations were reviewed by his special cases committee, and he met with Cornelius on Wednesday to remove him from the ministry.
"Archbishop Brunett determined that Father Cornelius’ credibility and reputation have been severely damaged and the sacred trust given to him by the church was irretrievably broken," Gallant said.
Cornelius voluntarily offered his resignation, and Brunett accepted it on Friday.
"I have tried to be a good priest, but it is obvious that I have failed, and I accept responsibility," Cornelius said in the statement.
Neither Cornelius nor Brunett attended the news conference.
Through the archdiocese, Cornelius previously had denied any wrongdoing.
Everett area parishioners seemed surprised by Friday’s announcement. Nina O’Neil, an Everett resident who often attends daily Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, praised Cornelius’ work in Everett. "We will all miss him terribly," she said.
The Rev. Dennis Robb, leader of the two Catholic churches where Cornelius worked, could not be reached for comment.
Cornelius, 56, an outspoken urban priest who drew national attention in the 1980s for championing the cause of adopting black children, and adopted 13 children himself, has been under the watch of a state parole officer hired by the archdiocese since 1997.
Church officials ordered the monitoring — the only known arrangement of its kind in the country, according to a national bishop’s council — after an Idaho man accused the priest in 1996 of abusing him as an adolescent in Boise, Idaho, in the early 1970s. Gallant did not know if the church would continue to monitor Cornelius.
Cornelius, who was transferred to Everett in 1997 and was limited in his contacts with parishioners, has been on administrative leave since April. That move came after two men alleged that the priest improperly touched them when they were students at a Catholic school in suburban Burien in the 1970s.
Since the two men’s claims were revealed in news coverage, at least 10 others have accused Cornelius of molestation, the archdiocese confirmed last week.
Church and police investigations of the 1996 molestation allegations were inconclusive. However, besides being transferred and made to meet with a parole officer, Cornelius was required to meet regularly with a therapist specializing in sex abuse.
Those moves were made at the recommendation of the archdiocese’s special cases committee, including outside experts.
Another such committee was formed by Brunett after the new allegations against Cornelius surfaced earlier this year.
Special cases committees consider statements from accusers, as well as psychological evaluations and testimony from counselors. The archbishop makes the final decision on each case.
A separate committee including law enforcement and outside experts advises the archbishop on general policy toward priests and other church employees accused of sex abuse.
Cornelius, a native of Philadelphia, was ordained in 1975. He was named a parish priest in 1978 at Immaculate Conception Church in Seattle’s then predominantly black Central Area, where he served as a police chaplain and adopted the first of his 13 children in 1983.
Cornelius was first investigated by the archdiocese and police in 1989 for alleged past molestation of a teen-ager after a church deacon raised concerns. As in the 1996 investigation, no charges were filed.
Gallant said Friday he would not address any questions about possible civil or criminal complaints, leaving those issues to another time.
Last month, Pope John Paul II summoned U.S. cardinals to the Vatican to a meeting about recent sex scandals. In his meeting, the pope condemned sexual abuse by priests as a crime and said there was no room in the priesthood for clerics guilty of such abuse.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
You can call Herald Writer Katherine Schiffner at 425-339-3436 or send e-mail to schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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