ARTICLES

Transparently Untransparent

St. Charles Parishioner Reports From Behind the Smoke Screen

BY ANNE KNIGHT

Several months after his controversial church renovation plan and Rite of Christian Initiation program were chronicled in these pages, Father Gary Holtey was in the news yet again. The pastor of Saint Charles Borromeo Church took a leave of absence after his parish was targeted as part of a nationwide investigation of Internet child pornography. The probe is investigating at least 30 individuals in the San Diego area, according to the task force supervisor, police Sergeant David Jones. The facts in the case remain sketchy because the warrant for search and seizure is sealed and the investigation is ongoing. What is known is a team of law enforcement officers, on May 6, served a warrant at the Saint Charles Academy office, and, after a search of the church's offices, confiscated computer equipment, files and documents relating to credit card purchases. Carrying out the raid were officials from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the San Diego Police Department's task force on Internet sex crimes against children.

On the evening of May 13, St. Charles Academy and diocesan officials held a meeting for parishioners and parents of academy students at the school. All others were barred from the meeting and prohibited from interviewing parents in the parking lot.

One interested Catholic layman, who asked not to be named, reported that, as he approached the parish hall, the academy's principal, Michael Deely, blocked the door disallowing him from entering. "Since when do you have to be a registered parishioner to be allowed to hear what's going on at a parish?" the layman asked. He was also dismayed by the parish's approach to parishioners without children in the academy. "Deely sent a letter out to the parents of the school children," he said. "I called the parish and asked them if the parishioners had also been sent a letter about the meeting. I was told no, without explanation."

This layman further believes that the restrictive nature of the May 13 meeting at Saint Charles Borromeo was inconsistent with Bishop Brom's stated desire to 'develop a communications policy that reflects a commitment to transparency and openness' as expressed in his June 17, 2002 news conference on the diocese's handling of clerical sexual abuse cases.

A Saint Charles parishioner present at the meeting who prefers to remain anonymous, confirmed that only the school's parents were notified of the meeting and that only registered parishioners and school parents could attend. Moreover, she added, meeting attendees who were not school parents were reminded that this was a meeting of the school's parent-teacher organization. Deely ran the meeting along with Chancellor Rod Valdivia and Vicar General Monsignor Steven Callahan of the Diocese of San Diego, the parishioner recalled. She had the impression that "a relatively small but very vocal group" set the meeting's tone, which was strongly supportive of Father Holtey. In response to a couple of questions from the audience about Father Holtey's background, she asserted that little information was provided.

According to the anonymous parishioner, the meeting ended with a standing ovation in honor of Father Holtey, who was not in attendance.

On May 12, a Channel 10 television news report quoted a parishioner identified only as Jim, who said he talked to Father Holtey shortly after the May 6 raid. "When I talked to him, I said, 'I hope everything is okay.' He said, 'I've done nothing wrong and the diocese backs me up.'"

On May 21, Monsignor Steven Callahan issued the following statement from the diocesan Office of the Vicar General: "Bishop Brom has accepted Father Gary Holtey's request to be relieved of his assignment as pastor of Saint Charles Borromeo Parish, effective May 20, 2004. He has also granted Father Holtey's request for a temporary leave of absence from active priestly ministry in order to address personal issues."

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