Father Bennett "Ben" ColucciOrdained: 1957
Retired: 2005
Died: 2020
Assigned as follows:
- 1957-1958: St. Francis Capuchin College (Washington D.C.)
- 1958-1959: St. Augustine Monastery (Pittsburgh, PA)
- 1959-1963: St. Michael (Utuado, Puerto Rico)
- 1963-1967: Santa Cruz (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico)
- 1967-1970: Inglesia San Joaquim (Adjuntas, Puerto Rico)
- 1970-1974: Annunciation (Denver, CO)
- 1970-1993: Marycrest High School (Denver, CO)
- 1977-1980: Holy Cross Friary (Denver, CO)
- 1982-1983: Santa Clara Friary (Denver, CO)
- 1983-1986: Holy Cross Friary (Denver, CO)
- 1986-1993: Annunciation Friary (Denver, CO0
- 1986-1993: Samaritan House (Denver, CO)
- 1994-2005: St. Joseph (Hays, KS)
- 2005-2007: (Retired) St. Joseph Friary (Hays, KS)
- 2007-2017: (Retired) St. Fidelis (Victoria, KS)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. Bennett "Ben" Colucci:
Fr. Bennett Colucci joined the Franciscan Capuchin Order in 1951. He was ordained a priest in 1957, who served in multiple parishes in the Archdiocese of Denver, as well as in churches and schools in Puerto Rico, Colorado, and Kansas.
According to media reports, Fr. Colucci was removed from ministry in Denver in 1993 following reports of misconduct. He was then transferred to Kansas. Additionally, in 2015, a Colorado woman reported an allegation of child sexual abuse by against the priest in the 1980's, to the Capuchin Order and law enforcement. The alleged victim was a 17-year-old student at Marycrest High School at the time of the reported abuse. The order's review board found the allegations credible.
The Capuchin Order included Fr. Colucci's name on its 2019 list of "members found to have had credible allegations of sexually inappropriate/criminal behaviors against minors or vulnerable adults."
The Diocese of Salina publicly named Colucci on its 2019 list of clergy with "substantiated allegations of clergy sexual abuse of a minor." The list notes one allegation of child sexual abuse in 1970s and 1980s against Fr. Colucci. Details regarding the age/gender of his alleged victim/victims and the nature of the alleged sexual abuse were not released by the diocese.
Fr. Bennett Colucci died in 2020.
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