8 former Brophy priests accused

Some sex-abuse claims date to ’50s, Jesuits say

At least eight priests who once worked at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult, according to the Jesuit order of priests.

One of the claims, against Eugene J. Colosimo from 1957 to 1959, appears to have occurred during the time he taught at Brophy. Colosimo went on to work at schools in California. He was still with the Jesuit order when he died in 2006. A spokesman with Phoenix police said he did not have any information on the claim against Colosimo, reported in 1993.

A call to Brophy was referred to the school’s president, Adria Renke. She did not immediately return a voicemail from The Arizona Republic.

The Jesuits West Province announced the 111 names, dating back to the 1950s, in a list Friday morning. That province assigns priests to missions at Brophy and to Jesuit churches and schools in different parts of the U.S. and around the world. More than 3,500 priests have moved through the

Jesuit order since the 1950s, according to the release.

“The list contains the names of Jesuits who are or were members of Jesuits West Province, the former California and the former Oregon Provinces, against whom a credible claim of sexual abuse of a minor (under the age of 18) or a vulnerable adult has been made,” the release states.

While most of those accused are dead, many of the claims emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The former Brophy priests are:

❚ Carlton E. Whitten, accused of sexual abuse of a minor in 2008. He was at Brophy from 1972 to 1977. He was removed from active ministry but still considered a Jesuit.

❚ Edward T. Burke, accused of sexual abuse of vulnerable adults from 1990 to 2000. He was assigned to Brophy twice: from 1958 to 1966, and from 1970 to 1977. He died while still in the Jesuit order in 2009.

❚ Colosimo, who worked at Brophy from 1955 to 1960.

❚ Charles L. Connor, accused of sexual abuse of vulnerable adults from 1990 to 2000, was at Brophy from 1977 to 1979. He died while still in the Jesuit order in 2011.

❚ James T. Monaghan, accused of sexual abuse of a minor from 1988 to 1989, worked at Brophy from 1955 to 1962. He died while still in the Jesuit order in 2004.

❚ Thomas E. O’Rourke, accused of sexual abuse of a minor in 1969. He served at Brophy from 1975 to 1993 and died while still in the Jesuit order that year.

❚ John R. Shepherd, accused of sexual abuse of a minor in 1978 and in the 1980s, served at Brophy from 1955 to 1956. He died while still in the Jesuit order in 1991.

❚ Phillip Sunseri, accused of sexual abuse of a minor in 1986, was at Brophy from 1978 to 1982. He is listed as dismissed from the Jesuit order in May 1988.

The list includes the names of the accused priests and their assignments. It does not specify where the abuse occurred and clarifies that, even though a priest has been accused, he may not have been found guilty of a crime in court.

In a list of questions and answers released with the names, the Jesuit order writes that the men are not immediately removed from active ministry following a credible claim. Dismissal is decided on a case-by-case basis and some priests are kept in the order but assigned to a “supervised” Jesuit community.

Many were placed at the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, Calif., following accusations.

The Jesuit order defines a vulnerable adult as someone with a “physical or mental impairment that substantially restricts his or her ability to carry out normal activities or to protect his or her rights.”

Most of Arizona’s priests are diocesan priests and not from the Jesuit order. St. Francis Xavier in Phoenix is Arizona’s only Jesuit parish. Brophy is the only Jesuit secondary school in Arizona.

Childhelp’s National Child Abuse Hotline (800-4A-CHILD) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by call and text for anyone who has experienced abuse or knows of someone who is being abused.