Joseph Bukoski, III

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Reverend Joseph Bukoski, III, SS.CC., is a Roman Catholic priest of the Hawaiian Province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He served in the church for many years, but was removed from his post in 2003 following allegations of sexual abuse, for which he has since apologised.

Bukoski was ordained to the presbyterate at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Kaimuki in 1979 , and served as parochial vicar till 1985 . Thereafter he studied Canon law and, after obtaining his licentiate, was appointed by Bishop Joseph Ferrario as the head of the diocesan tribunal and judicial vicar of the Honolulu diocese. In 1990 , he was elected as Provincial Superior of the Hawaiian Province of the Sacred Hearts Fathers and Brothers. He served as Provincial Superior for six years. He oversaw activities related to the beatification of Father Damien, culminating in his leading a Hawai‘i delegation to Belgium. For his efforts relating to the beatification, the King of Belgium knighted him.

In 2005, Joseph Bukoski admitted in a Honolulu court that, in 1976, he had sexually assaulted his accuser, Eugene Saulibio, then 14. The court agreement included that Bukoski pay a portion of his income for the next 10 years to his accuser and the publishing of these two apologies:

"Dear Eugene:

I write you to apologize for what I did to you, and for the pain you have suffered as a result of my actions in the summer of 1976 and my phone call to you in 2002. I am truly sorry for all you have gone through and suffered as a result of my actions. I should have apologized much sooner.

Aloha Ke Akua,

Joseph Bukoski III"

"I'm relieved the truth is now out," said Eugene Saulibio, a 44-year-old father of three children. "When I was 15 years old, Father Joseph Bukoski gave me drugs and alcohol, waited until I passed out and then sexually assaulted me. He caused me a lot of harm to me and my family," said the Aiea man who was near tears in a courthouse news conference. "It's really important to me that everybody starts healing -- not only me and my family, but all Catholics."

Bukoski was not a priest in 1976 when the attack described by Eugene Saulibio occurred. Bukoski had taken religious vows as a Sacred Hearts brother at the time and lived at the Sacred Hearts Seminary in Kaneohe. Saulibio stayed there for the summer while attending summer school.

According to the suit, Bukoski's superiors knew about the sexual abuse but kept him in the order, raised him to priest and "assisted him in concealing his antisocial behavior out of a concern that the disclosure of Father Bukoski's character faults would be more harmful to the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts than permitting Joseph Bukoski to minister to the public."

In 1998 , he was assigned as pastor of Maria Lanakila Catholic Church in Lahaina. He served in that post until he was removed by Bishop Francis DiLorenzo in 2003 for allegations relating to sexual improprieties some thirty years earlier.

Bukoski originally denied the allegations made against him. He appealed to the Vatican to intervene, claiming his due process rights under canon law were not followed when the bishop removed him. But the Vatican confirmed the bishop's decision. At the time, the priest addressed his appeal to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then head of the Vatican Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, who this year became Pope Benedict XVI.

SAULIBIO'S SUIT claimed that he developed emotional and psychological problems stemming from the assault, was dismissed as a seminarian after a suicide attempt, and suffered "severe emotional distress" when the first accusation against Bukoski was published in May 2002. His complaint to the Catholic diocese led to conversations with Guerreiro and Sister Claudia Wong, a therapist who questioned his belated memories of the 1976 event.

Wong was named in the suit, and settled earlier this year, paying Saulibio $50,000 and writing an apology, saying she did not "intend to either judge or question your recollection of your encounter with Joseph Bukoski."

Saulibio told reporters that he still is a Catholic and is raising his children in the Catholic Church. He said the ordeal has made it difficult for him to go to church. "But I feel, with all this behind me, I can finally start to do that again, hopefully. I don't know if I can go this Sunday, but I can work it into my mind that one day I will be able to do that. I still have belief and faith in the Catholic church. It's just some people have tainted it a little bit," Saulibio said.