BELMONT — Two former Benedictine monks with ties to Belmont Abbey and the Diocese of Charlotte have appeared on a list of Virginia clergy accused of child sexual abuse.
Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Va., released a list Feb. 13 of 43 diocesan and religious order clergy that their records show had “a credible and substantiated allegation of sexual abuse involving a minor.” Three of the priests on the list served in the Charlotte diocese: Benedictine monks Father Donald Scales and Father Frederick George, and Jesuit Father C. Jeffries Burton.
Two of the abuse cases reportedly occurred in the Charlotte diocese approximately 40 years ago.
Scales and George, both Benedictine monks living in Richmond who formerly served at Belmont Abbey, were removed from ministry following the allegations. Scales died in 2008; George was permanently dismissed by the Vatican in 2004.
In a Feb. 18 statement, Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari of Belmont Abbey said, “In neither case did the alleged abuse occur at Belmont Abbey, nor did it involve students of Belmont Abbey College. The allegations against these monks come from a single individual in each respective case. The alleged incidents took place in the late 1970s, but were reported only at a later time.”
The third priest on the Diocese of Richmond’s list, Burton, was removed from ministry by the Jesuit order in 2007 and died in 2011. His case was reported by his order last December.
SCALES
Donald Scales served in various positions at Belmont Abbey College and in parish work in the Charlotte diocese after entering Belmont Abbey in 1948.
A single allegation of sexual abuse was reported in 2006 to Abbot Placid involving Scales’ ministry at St. Michael Parish in Gastonia “approximately 40 years earlier” when the parish was staffed by the Benedictines, according to information provided by the Charlotte diocese and Belmont Abbey. At the time the allegation was reported, Scales had been living at St. Benedict Priory in Richmond since 1980.
No details about the allegation itself were available, and the person reporting the allegation did not want further action taken or to be contacted further.
Child Protective Services of the Department of Social Services in Gaston County was notified, as well as the Charlotte diocese and the Richmond priory. Civil authorities took no action, but the Charlotte diocese’s Lay Review Board determined in its investigation that the allegation was credible.
Scales denied the allegation. Although he was elderly and no longer active in parish ministry, he was removed from ministry in 2006. He died in 2008.
Other than his ministry in North Carolina, Scales had assignments in Richmond in 1955-’57, 1960-’61 and 1970-’71, and a leave of absence from 1971 to 1975 to serve as a drug and alcohol counselor, according to information from Abbot Placid.
In a statement, Charlotte Bishop Peter Jugis expressed “profound regret for the apparent sexual abuse of a minor that occurred at St. Michael Parish in Gastonia approximately 40 years ago.”
Charlotte diocese spokesman David Hains said the diocese is unaware of any other allegations regarding Scales.
GEORGE
The single abuse allegation against Frederick George related to his ministry in Richmond.
Ordained in 1975, George was assigned to St. Benedict Priory from 1975 to 1987, where he served as parochial vicar and pastor at St. Benedict Church and taught religion at Benedictine High School, according to information provided by Belmont Abbey. Before his ordination, he served for six months as a deacon at St. Michael Parish in Gastonia.
“In November 1987, the Richmond diocese was contacted by parents who alleged that Frederick George had abused their son at St. Benedict Parish in the late 1970s. He was removed as pastor of St. Benedict’s and left residence at the monastery,” Abbot Placid said in his statement. “He was briefly assigned by the bishop to other pastoral ministry in the diocese and removed himself in 1988 from ministry and religious life for several years.”
George returned to Belmont Abbey in 1991.
“As was a usual practice at the time – very different from the current policy – he received two separate comprehensive psychological evaluations and two letters of suitability from two different psychologists,” Abbot Placid explained in his statement.
George was certified as a hospital chaplain and served as a hospital chaplain from 1992 to 1994. He then served as chaplain at Belmont Abbey College from 1994 to 1997.
George left Belmont Abbey and priestly ministry in 1998 “to care for his ailing mother,” according to Abbot Placid, and after he declined to return to Belmont Abbey he was permanently dismissed by the Holy See from monastic life and ministry in 2004.
BURTON
C. Jeffries Burton was assigned to the Charlotte and Richmond dioceses by his order, the Maryland Province of Jesuits, and appeared on the order’s list of credibly accused priests that was released in December 2018.
The allegation against Burton dated from when he was co-director of youth ministry for the diocese at the Youth Ministry Center in Flat Rock.
In 1994, the Maryland Province received a report against Burton of a “single allegation of unwanted touching over clothing” involving an adolescent at Flat Rock in 1982.
According to the province’s policy at the time, Burton had “a brief period of therapy” and the allegation was reported to Charlotte diocese officials. By that time, Burton no longer served in North Carolina.
The Charlotte diocese offered counseling to the victim.
After the U.S. bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002, the Maryland Province aligned its policy to the new child abuse prevention and reporting standards. In 2007, the allegation came to light during a review of Burton’s file.
When questioned, Burton acknowledged that the misconduct occurred, said Kate Pipkin, the Jesuit province’s spokeswoman at the time. He was removed from ministry in 2007 by the order and underwent additional counseling. The province also publicly reported the allegation for the first time.
Besides his time at the Youth Ministry Center from 1978 to 1982, Burton also served at Spring Creek Elementary and High Schools in Hot Springs (1969-1971), St. Teresa’s Church in Revere (1971-1972) and Hot Springs Boys Home (1972-1978). He died in 2011.
In a statement accompanying the release of the Richmond diocese’s list, Bishop Knestout said, “This crisis calls us to be immersed in three aspects of reconciliation. We need to bring to light the damage that has been done by child sexual abuse in the Church in order for healing to take place. We must express our sorrow and contrition publicly and clearly to acknowledge what we have done and what we have failed to do. We must continue to demonstrate our commitment to never let this happen again. In doing so, we make known – and support with actions – our commitment to repair the damage that has been done.”
In his Feb. 18 statement, Abbot Placid echoed, “If we are to end the crisis of clerical sexual abuse we must be transparent and honest communication regarding allegations of sexual abuse. It is painful to have to communicate this information to you. However, clerical sexual abuse has caused grave damage to victims, has damaged the Church and its mission, and is a source of shame to all of us who seek to live and minister with integrity.”
“There are no allegations of any kind against the current members of the Belmont Abbey monastic community,” Abbot Placid noted, but he added, “I am engaging the service of an independent private investigator to audit the personal files of the monks to provide an assurance of independent verification that there are no other credible allegations against current or former monks of this community.”
“While we cannot undo actions and decisions of the past,” his statement continued, “we are deeply contrite that former monks of our community have credible allegations of harm to others. The monks of Belmont Abbey are committed to proper screening and formation of candidates for monastic life in our community, and to transparent and honest communication of allegations of sexual abuse in keeping with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People of the national bishops’ conference. We continue to pray for all who have been harmed by the evil of clerical sexual abuse, and are committed to moving forward with integrity in our service to the church and our college community.”
Abbot Placid and Bishop Jugis urged anyone who may be a victim of abuse to contact the authorities.
Details about the diocese’s Safe Environment policies and how to report an allegation of abuse are online at www.charlottediocese.org/human-resources/safe-environment.
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor. Catholic News Service contributed.
Read the Statement on Diocese of Richmond List of Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse from Abbot Placid