Dale Fushek

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Monsignor Dale Fushek, (1952—), was an influential Roman Catholic priest and Vicar General for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix in the American state of Arizona until April of 2004. On November 21, 2005, Monsignor Dale Fushek was arrested in connection to alleged sex abuse crimes attributed to him while he was pastor of St. Timothy's Parish in Mesa, Arizona. He has not been found guilty of any of the claims, and has maintained his innocence throughout. Msgr. Fushek is the highest ranking Catholic Church official to face criminal charges related to the sexual abuse of teenage men by Roman Catholic clergy.

1 Early religious education
2 Teen involvement
3 Life Teen
4 Catholic recognition
5 Sexual misconduct allegations
6 Praise and Worship Center and a De Facto Schism
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Early religious education

He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952; his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona in the 1960s. After graduating from Phoenix Central High School in 1970, he attended St. John's Seminary in California and it was there that he decided to dedicate his religious work to children and teens. In 1978 he was ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.

[edit] Teen involvement

As a young priest in Phoenix, Arizona he was assigned to St. Jerome's Parish in Phoenix. There he began to work toward bringing children and especially teens back into the ministry. Fr. Fushek founded an organization called Active Christian Teens otherwise known as ACT. ACT sought to expand the ministry to teens and young adults, part of the religious community who Fr. Fushek believed felt out of place in church.[1]

[edit] Life Teen

In 1983, Fr. Fushek was transferred to St. Timothy's Catholic Parish in Mesa, Arizona. There, he founded Life Teen a program that was similar to ACT at St. Jerome's. Under the influential leadership of Fr. Fushek his congregation grew as did his Life Teen program. The program Fr. Fushek developed for teens proved extremely popular and numerous other Parishes and Dioceses began to develop Life Teen programs of their own.[2]

Fushek is no longer involved in Life Teen as of his resignation in 2005.

[edit] Catholic recognition

Fr. Fushek was instrumental in planning and organizing the 1987 visit of Pope John Paul II. He again played the lead in the 1989 visit of Mother Teresa. On April 19, 2000, Fr. Fushek was appointed to the post of Vicar General, second in command of the Phoenix Diocese by then Bishop Thomas O'Brien. On February 15, 2002, Fr. Fushek was invested as a Monsignor, an honorary title reserved for priests of distinction.[3]

[edit] Sexual misconduct allegations

In May of 2002, Msgr. Dale Fushek disclosed to his congregation, that in 1995, the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix had settled a sexual harassment suit that had been filed against him by a former LIFE TEEN staff member.[4]

In April of 2004, the newly installed Bishop Thomas Olmsted, who replaced Bishop Thomas O'Brien after his conviction and resignation for a fatal hit-and-run accident[5], accepted Msgr. Fushek's resignation from his position as Vicar General.

In late December of 2004, additional complaints against Monsignor Fushek emerged and the Diocese began to conduct an investigation. Msgr. Fushek was placed on paid administrative leave shortly thereafter.[6]

On January 27, 2005, a lawsuit was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court alleging that then-Fr. Fushek witnessed the sexual assault of another, by a priest, and did nothing.[7]

On April 4, 2005, Msgr. Fushek resigned as a pastor for St. Timothy's Catholic Church.[8]

On November 21, 2005, Dale Fushek was arrested and charged with 10 criminal misdemeanor counts related to alleged inappropriate sexual contact with teens and young adults.^[1] Maricopa County Prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility of more serious charges.[9] On May 22, 2006, three of the 10 misdemeanor counts were dismissed at the request of the prosecution. [10]

On December 5, 2006, the lawsuit filed on January 27, 2005, was settled by the Diocese of Phoenix for $100,000. The settlement does not imply any admission of guilt, according to the Diocesan attorney Mike Haran. [11] The case was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. [12]

[edit] Praise and Worship Center and a De Facto Schism

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In late 2007 Dale Fushek, along with Mark Dippre, who left the priesthood and is now married, began preaching at a Christian assembly called the Praise and Worship Center. The Praise and Worship Center's vision statement declares an intention "to bring together people of all traditions who are willing to follow the person of Jesus Christ and form a non-judgmental community of faith." [13]

On January 4, 2008, the Arizona Republic reported that the "Diocese [of Phoenix] urges Catholics not attend to Fushek services." [14] These services are currently held at the Fiesta Fountains reception center. [15] Fushek says, according to the Praise and Worship Center's website, "The Center is being founded by a small group of people who are searching for something to supplement their own spiritual journeys." [16] The Services, which started Thanksgiving 2007, have attracted between 500 to 700 people.[17]

The Praise and Worship Center is not a Catholic organization, although their website asserts that it is not "anti-Catholic".[18] Additionally, by its own admission, the Praise and Worship Center is in schism with the Magisterium because according to the Praise and Worship Center's website, "there are no doctrinal guidelines or mandated acceptance of proscribed theology required for membership." People of all Christian faiths are invited to join. [19] This philosophy of religion stems from pluralism or relativism, which are both contrary to Catholicism. Additionally, Catholics owe obedience to their bishop in such matters and are thus prohibited from participating in this event according to the code of canon Law.[See CIC, c. 844 §1; CCEO, c. 672 §1.) (See also Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter On the Eucharist (Ecclesia de Eucharistia), no. 30.])

It also must be noted that although attending these services are a violation of Catholic Canon Law, minors are legally free to attend these services despite pending allegations against Monsignor Fushek. This is because "[t]he justice of the peace has allowed him to attend church and to visit other public places where children may be present."[20]