Father John Haberthier
Diocese of Pueblo
Ordained: 1948
Died: 2009
Assigned as follows:
- 1949-1950: St. Patrick (Wichita, KS)
- 1951-1952: Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Dodge City, KS)
- 1953: St. Rose Hospital (Great Bend, KS)
- 1954-1960: St. Theresa’s (Drighton, KS)
- 1961-1965: St. Michael’s (La Crosse, KS)
- 1966: Wilson Memorial Hospital (Ulysses, KS)
- 1967: Unknown
- 1968-1971: Immaculate Heart of Mary (Windthorst, KS)
- 1972-1974: St. Patrick’s (Plains, KS)
- 1975: On Leave of Absence
- 1976-1979: St. Francis Xavier (Pueblo, CO)
- 1976-1994: On Duty Outside the Diocese
- 1995-1998: Retried: (San Jacinto, CA)
- 1999-2008: Unknown
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. John Haberthier:
Fr. John Haberthier was ordained a priest in 1948, and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Pueblo. According to media reports, in October 2019, the Colorado Attorney General released a detailed report of a special investigation into the handling of child sexual abuse allegations by Colorado’s three Catholic dioceses. For the first time, Fr. Haberthier was publicly identified as a priest with multiple documented reports of sexual abuse.
According to the documents reviewed by the investigators, Haberthier abused at least four children in the four years that he worked as an extern priest in the Diocese of Pueblo. The Diocese of Pueblo was made aware of the abuse in 1977, but Haberthier fled to California before any action could be taken against him. The Diocese never informed law enforcement nor did they information anyone in his next diocese (the Diocese of San Bernardino) of the allegation.
Victim #1 reported that that he was sexually abused by Haberthier from 1974 to 1976, starting when he was 15 years old. At the time, Haberthier was assigned to St. Francis Xavier in Pueblo.
Victim #2 also reported abuse while Haberthier was residing at St. Francis Xavier starting in 1975. He was also 15 at the time it began. The abuse of Victim #2 is believed to be reported in 1977.
Victim #3 also reported his abuse in 1977 after he was raped by Haberthier. He was a 13 year old altar boy at St. Francis Xavier that Haberthier took the movies one night.
Haberthier had been assigned to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Trinidad until November 1974, when he was suddenly removed and sent for a psychiatric evaluation for unstated reasons. The same documents refer to Haberthier as “a very disturbed man.”
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Pueblo in Colorado. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Colorado, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Pueblo now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Colorado and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.