Deceased Franklin Co. priests among those accused of sexual misconduct
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Seven Catholic priests with ties to Franklin County and the surrounding region are among the 301 clergy Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro called "predator priests" this week when announcing the findings of an investigative grand jury.
“Today, after decades of enforced silence and institutional cover-up, the voices of the victims of sex abuse in the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania are finally being heard," Shapiro said at a news conference Tuesday. "The time for institutions to place their own interests above protecting our children is over."
There are eight Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania. The report, which looks at six of them, details the accusations against each priest and at which churches they worked. The complete report is available on the attorney general's website at https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/report.
Local parishes contacted by a reporter Thursday referred calls to The Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg office.
Priests throughout the diocese's 15 counties were instructed to read aloud a message from Bishop Ronald Gainer during Masses last weekend and this weekend. They were given text from the bishop to put in bulletins, according to diocese spokeswoman Rachel Bryson.
"We're committed to better transparency and communication than has occurred in the past," Bryson said.
Parishioners voicing questions primarily ask how the church is going to move forward and stay true to its word, Bryson said. The first thing people should know is every new allegation goes to authorities, she said.
The diocese lists information about training, identification badges for those who went through training, and background screenings on its website. It launched www.youthprotectionhbg.com with information on how to report child sexual abuse, contact information for victims' assistance and more detailed information about the church's steps to confront the issue.
“In my own name, and in the name of the Diocesan Church of Harrisburg, I express our profound sorrow and apologize to the survivors of child sex abuse, the Catholic faithful and the general public for the abuses that took place and for those church officials who failed to protect children," Gainer said in a statement.
Bryson said Gainer and church attorneys first reviewed the grand jury report in May. That report was released Tuesday.
Priests with local connections listed in the report, and the allegations against them, include:
• the Rev. Charles Procopio, who died in 1997
Procopio served as pastor of St. Andrew Church in Waynesboro for 10 months in 1961 and 1962. He also was pastor of St. Rita Catholic Church in Blue Ridge Summit from 1968 to 1971. Though the grand jury report does not list it, he worked at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Chambersburg in the 1980s, according to parishioners.
He was accused of molesting seventh- and eighth-grade girls at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Harrisburg in 1965.
• the Rev. Thomas Kujovsky, who died in 2015
Kujovsky was assigned to Corpus Christi from August 1986 to June 1989.
In 1981, magazines containing nude photographs of former altar boys were found in his possession. Additional allegations (unspecified in the report) were referenced in a 1990 letter, although the accuser recanted the claims.
• the Rev. Frederick Vaughn, who died in 1992
Vaughn was pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Church in Greencastle from 1971 until he retired in 1986.
A woman in 2002 came forward to say Vaughn — who was separately accused of fondling a girl wearing a bathing suit — molested her two daughters in the mid-1960s. She claimed he fondled the girls' genitals starting when they were about 9 years old.
Additionally in 2002, another set of parents reported their daughter was not only fondled, but also subjected to intercourse, with Vaughn from ages 3 to 13. They said their other daughter was sexually abused from ages 5 to 10 in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
A woman called in 2004 to say Vaughn abused her in 1958 when she was 11 or 12 years old, attending grade school in Harrisburg.
"She reported Vaughn pressed himself up against her body and fondled her from behind. He held her tight to his body and rubbed up against her," the report states.
Another parent in 2004 said Vaughn abused her daughter at the same grade school. That mother said she witnessed Vaughn's hands on her daughter's breasts over her clothing.
The report states a victim in 2016 told diocesan officials about Vaughn visiting her home to see her father when she was 11 years old. With her father not home, Vaughn allegedly wrestled her onto the floor and whispered "I like a fighter" when she struggled.
"Vaughn then moaned and made noises that scared her," the report states.
• the Rev. Carl J. Steffen, who died in 2015
Steffan retired from St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Buchanan Valley in 2005 after 27 years there. He had several complaints lodged against him, as well as internal disciplinary measures.
• the Rev. James Beeman, who died in 2016
Among Beeman's assignments throughout central Pennsylvania were four years at Our Lady of Visitation Church in Shippensburg in the 1960s. His "heinous acts" were public knowledge, according to a statement released by Bishop Gainer.
"Bishop Gainer, in a form letter meant solely to resolve their canonical status, recommended Joseph Pease and James Beeman live out their days in prayer and penance. ... The form letter is regrettably not written well and does not accurately represent the action that was taken," the statement says.
• the Rev. Salvatore V. Zangari, who died in 2004
Zangari also was assigned to Our Lady of Visitation Church in Shippensburg for a portion of the 1960s. He admitted to fathering a child with a former student.
• the Rev. Daniel Mahoney, who died in 2007
Mahoney was pastor of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Fairfield from 1964 to 1968. He is accused of sexually abusing two boys and what is described as "inappropriate publishing" in a bulletin and on his personal website.
