By Katherine Schiffner
Herald Writer
EVERETT — Church officials insisted Thursday that an Everett priest accused of sexual misconduct was closely supervised while he worked at two local churches.
The Rev. John Cornelius, who has been accused of sexually abusing three boys in the 1970s, reported monthly to an independent monitor, underwent counseling and was demoted to assistant priest, said Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle spokesman Bill Gallant.
"All those things were in place simply because we wanted to err on the side of caution," Gallant said.
George Uhlman, a state parole officer who has supervised sex offenders for 29 years, was hired about five years ago by the archdiocese to monitor Cornelius.
He said he met with Cornelius once or twice a month, and also observed Cornelius without Cornelius’ knowledge, such as at masses, once per month on average. Uhlman said Cornelius was "not allowed to be alone for any period of time with any minors."
The priest, he said, "went out of his way to abide by the conditions." Uhlman said he was not aware of any allegations of misconduct while Cornelius worked at the Everett parishes.
Uhlman said he received permission from the state Department of Corrections to work on the case, but was not working with Cornelius on behalf of the state.
Cornelius served under The Rev. Dennis Robb, a priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Immaculate Conception in Everett. Robb said Wednesday that Cornelius "was not sent here in a limited capacity so I could supervise him."
Robb said he was aware of allegations against Cornelius, learning of them shortly after Cornelius was moved to the parishes in 1997.
On Thursday, Gallant sought to clarify Robb’s role, saying, "Father Robb was part of the team that we wanted in place to make sure we did everything we could to ensure the safety of children in the community."
Robb could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Cornelius was placed on administrative leave from the priesthood Tuesday after a 43-year-old former national television news reporter filed a complaint of sexual abuse against him.
Gallant said several calls about Cornelius were received on a hotline at 1-800-950-4965 set up for anyone claiming to be a victim of abuse by clergy or lay leaders in the archdiocese, but he did not know if any of the callers were from the Everett area.
He said the calls and a new claim of abuse that was reported Wednesday are under investigation.
Rick Barquet, 38, of Kent said Wednesday he was a 14-year-old altar boy in the 1970s at Immaculate Conception Church in Seattle when he was sexually abused by Cornelius, a Seattle newspaper reported.
Earlier this week a former TV reporter now living in Chicago accused Cornelius of molesting him while he was a student at John F. Kennedy Memorial High, a Catholic school in Burien, in the 1970s.
"We continue to be saddened when we hear about new allegations," Gallant said. "However, as Archbishop Alexander Brunett said yesterday, we must continue to push through our grief and do what we have already tried to do in the Archdiocese of Seattle. That is to provide pastoral care to those who have been victimized and to work closely with civil authorities to ensure the protection of our children."
Cornelius could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The prominent priest, who adopted 13 children and worked for almost two decades at Immaculate Conception Church in Seattle, has denied the allegations through the archdiocese.
In 1989, a deacon at Immaculate Conception raised concerns about his relationship with his adopted children. Police and the state’s Child Protective Services conducted a thorough investigation and found no evidence of wrongdoing, Gallant said.
In 1996, an Idaho man filed a complaint saying he was molested in the early 1970s while Cornelius was at a seminary in Boise. The complaint was investigated by Seattle police, Child Protective Services and a forensic psychiatrist, none of whom found grounds for criminal charges.
The next year, Cornelius was transferred to Everett. His status was reduced from pastor to assistant priest "due to the seriousness of the allegations," and he was placed under the supervision of an independent monitor, Archbishop Alex Brunett said in a statement Wednesday.
"When you’re a pastor, it’s a totally unsupervised role. We felt we should put him in a different environment," Gallant said Thursday.
He said reports from the monitor and a state-certified therapist assured the archdiocese that Cornelius posed no threat to his children or his parish.
"The therapist said he had absolutely no qualms about Father John being involved in any ministry," Gallant said.
Cornelius was ordained in 1975 and has been praised by Brunett for his strong commitment to civil rights.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You can call Herald Writer Katherine Schiffner at 425-339-3436 or send e-mail to schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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