Archbishop asks for prayers, support

Responding defensively to recent child-molestation allegations against a local Catholic priest, Seattle Archbishop Alexander Brunett yesterday told the man's former parish that not victimizing the accused or the church is "just as important" as protecting the victims.

In a sermon at 9 a.m. Mass at Seattle's Immaculate Conception Church, where the Rev. John Cornelius was pastor for nearly 20 years until a sex-abuse allegation arose in 1996, Brunett admonished his audience: "Don't victimize the victims, don't victimize the accused, don't victimize the community."

About Cornelius, Brunett said: "He is very depressed. He needs your prayers."

Meanwhile, at Everett's Immaculate Conception Church, where Cornelius was assistant pastor until new allegations from the 1970s surfaced last week, more than 400 parishioners yesterday gave the Rev. Dennis Robb a 40-second standing ovation after the pastor asked them to keep faith in their church and in each other.

"Out of every tragedy, out of every pain, out of every suffering, out of every death comes new life," Robb said. "So today, let us be confident that, with God's grace, new life will come out of this situation as well."

At the Seattle church of the same name, Brunett spoke, often defensively, about both the Seattle Archdiocese's and his own actions regarding the accusations against Cornelius as he addressed a sympathetic parish whose former pastor remains popular there.

The archbishop denied that the church was responsible for publicly identifying the accused priest and said, "The press did that.

"It is not this church, it is not this community that has failed. It is the press that has failed," he said.

The congregation interrupted the sermon with applause several times, and parishioners afterward spoke warmly of "Father John," whom Brunett placed on administrative leave last Tuesday after a new molestation complaint arose from the 1970s.

At the Everett church, parishioners seemed tense as they arrived for the first Sunday Mass since the allegations surfaced. Several refused to comment.

"This is very painful for us," one man told a reporter. "Please don't kick us while we are down."

Cornelius was an assistant priest at two Everett Catholic churches, Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, until Brunett placed him on leave after a Chicago man accused him of molesting him in the 1970s. Through the archdiocese, Cornelius has denied the Chicago man's allegations.

It was the third time Cornelius, 50, was accused of molesting a boy in the 1970s. In 1989, a deacon reported an alleged sexual assault of an altar boy to the archdiocese and police. In 1996, an Idaho man said he was sexually abused while Cornelius was a seminarian in Boise and the man was an adolescent at summer camp. Two other men have since accused Cornelius through the news media.

After the 1996 allegation, the Seattle Archdiocese transferred him to Everett from Seattle's Immaculate Conception Church -- where he had been a well-known priest in the city's black community -- and demoted him from pastor.

Robb, a priest at both Everett churches served by Cornelius, told parishioners that his colleague's leave status means Cornelius has been removed from all ministerial duties and from Everett while an archdiocese investigation progresses.

Robb said he believes his longtime colleague is innocent, but that police and a panel of psychiatrists and counselors will conduct "a vigorous, ongoing investigation" into the allegations until a determination of Cornelius' future status is reached.

Brunett, delivering his homily at a church about two-thirds filled, was more vague than Robb about steps being taken to deal with the controversy.

The archbishop said the popular priest, who has not been charged with a crime, has responded properly to the latest allegations: "He did all the things we asked him to do. ... He stepped back from the ministry" -- an action that Brunett previously has suggested was entirely his decision, not Cornelius'.

"He has cooperated with all of the things we have asked him to do."

Apparently coincidentally, on a table at the church entrance was a stack of fliers from the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence, proclaiming April to be "Child Abuse Awareness Month." It suggested that clergy help make churches safe places for members to find help by, among other things, "Break(ing) the silence by speaking openly about the existence of abuse and preaching about exploitation and violence."

Brunett reminded the Seattle parish that "if there are allegations (against Cornelius), that's all they are, allegations." And, he added, they were "allegations that were made years and years ago."

Brunett acknowledged his responsibility "to reach out" to victims of abuse, adding, "I need, as bishop, to know if there are things that are not right, that are not proper."

He said he accepts the responsibility of his office, and "I accept that challenge. ... I have nothing to hide. I have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Toni Hall, whose two children were baptized by "Father John" at the Seattle church, said she felt the archbishop's message was "very fair. I think it was powerful. And I think it was something we needed to hear."

She and several other parishioners spoke affectionately of their former pastor and expressed a willingness, as Brunett admonished them, to view the allegations as only unproven accusations.

"He was loved by everybody," said Bernice Jenkins, a 35-year member of the Seattle parish.

In Everett, Robb apologized to his congregation for having to turn his sermon away from the joy of the Easter season and from two little girls' first communion celebrations to deal with the "horrible accusations" against Cornelius.

He urged his parishioners to look to the source of their faith to get through the crisis.

"Whatever we think about the allegations, we need to remember that our faith is not based on any priest, on any bishop, not even on the Holy Father," Robb said. "Our faith is based on one person and one person alone, namely the Lord Jesus Christ."

"As a matter of fact, this is what our religion and the Easter season is all about," Robb said. "That the light of Christ shines ever more brightly in the midst of darkness."

Robb asked his parishioners to sign up for one-hour slots in a round-the-clock prayer vigil this week at the two Everett churches.

"Pray for Father John," Robb urged them. "Pray for our parish communities. And pray also for all victims of abuse."

After a week of formal and informal meetings among parishioners, most "are trying to come together," parishioner Al Magbag said. He said he is willing to believe in Cornelius' innocence until he is proven guilty, although he's obviously concerned.

"I have kids in the parish," he said.

P-I reporter Neil Modie can be reached at 206-448-8321 or neilmodie@seattlepi.com

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