photo by: Nick Krug

Father Mike Scully of St. John the Evangelist in Lawrence, leads those gathered for the opening prayer before the swearing in of Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, in the first floor rotunda of the Kansas Statehouse.

Story updated at 6:34 p.m. Wednesday:

The Catholic Church says its internal investigation into an allegation of child sex abuse by a local priest has determined the allegation is unsubstantiated. However, the status of a law enforcement investigation is currently unknown, and victim advocates continue to express concerns.

The Capuchin Franciscans Province of Mid-America issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying that the allegation against the priest, Michael Scully, was found to be unsubstantiated after an investigation by an independent investigator and review by the province’s Independent Review Board. As a result, the statement says Scully is “cleared of this allegation.”

“When an allegation of sexual abuse is brought to our attention, we recognize the pain experienced by the victims and their families, the accused, the entire Church community, and our own community of brothers,” the statement reads. “We continue to hold in our prayers all those involved in this case.”

Scully has served as a priest and youth pastor in Colorado and Kansas for more than 50 years, including about 20 years in the Lawrence area. He has served at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Lawrence, Holy Family Parish in Eudora and most recently at Haskell Indian Nations University Catholic Campus Center in Lawrence.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas was informed on Feb. 28 that the province had received an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Scully, according to a statement published in the March 25 issue of the archdiocese’s publication The Leaven. The archdiocese said at the time that the allegation stemmed from Scully’s ministry outside the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas — which includes 21 counties in northeast Kansas — indicating that it did not occur in the Lawrence area. Scully denied the allegations and was “cooperating fully,” and was suspended from ministry pending the results of the investigation, according to the archdiocese statement.

After receiving the allegation, the province reported it to law enforcement and initiated the independent investigation and evaluation by its Independent Review Board, according to the archdiocese statement. The church’s investigation is separate from the law enforcement investigation. It is unclear exactly when and where the alleged abuse occurred, other than not within the Kansas City archdiocese, or the status of the law enforcement investigation.

The archdiocese’s March 25 statement about the allegations against Scully cannot be found via a search of The Leaven’s website, and the allegation was not widely publicized until area media became aware of the allegation on Monday following a news release from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). On Monday, SNAP called on Catholic officials in Kansas and Colorado to immediately communicate — via public announcements, mailings and other means — to anyone who might have information or suspicions about Scully.

David Clohessy, volunteer director of SNAP in Missouri, told the Journal-World on Wednesday that SNAP only learned of the allegation recently after a concerned Catholic informed the organization of The Leaven statement from March 25. Clohessy said given the Catholic Church’s history, it was difficult to trust the results of the church’s investigation, especially because there was “very little” public outreach and the determination that Scully was “cleared” came so soon after the first widespread publication of the allegation.

“It’s just very hard to have any real faith in these quiet, or secretive, internal church processes,” Clohessy said. “We’ve been around 30-plus years, and we’ve seen literally hundreds of times Catholic officials say the first, second and third allegations aren’t substantiated, only to reverse themselves after the fourth, fifth and sixth allegations.”

Clohessy also noted that Scully, as a youth pastor who focused on outreach to children and teens, likely had contact with many children and also worked in various locations. He expressed concern that the province had not released the city, archdiocese, or even the state where the abuse allegedly occurred.

“If his entire career had been spent working in the church headquarters on church archives, it still would be crucial that church officials be honest and aggressive doing outreach,” Clohessy said. “But it’s especially crucial given how this priest has structured his career to win over young people, and teenagers and kids.”

Scully has focused heavily in ministering to children and youth, and he hosted a radio show in western Kansas called “Message at the Top” that incorporated rock and other popular music. According to his website, Scully has spent most of his ministry working with youth as a religion teacher, high school administrator, youth pastor and parish pastor.

Scully issued a statement to parishioners following the March 25 announcement, which was shared with the Journal-World on Wednesday. In that statement, Scully said that the alleged abuse occurred in the late 1970s. He said though he supported the investigative process, the acts he was accused of “did not occur,” and the allegation was hurtful.

“An allegation of this nature is hurtful to me, especially since I have loved the ministry of being a priest and pastor,” Scully wrote. “Also, most of my priestly life of 57 years has been spent working with, counseling and overseeing young people. I have authored books for young people, have produced radio shows on pop music and movies, and given numerous youth talks, and never once in this period has an accusation of this nature been brought forward against me.”

In response to the province’s statement on Wednesday afternoon, the Journal-World asked whether the province was going to release when and where the alleged abuse occurred; what the status of the law enforcement investigation was and whether it had bearing on Scully’s suspension; and when and where Scully would return to ministry.

Joseph Elder, spokesperson for the Capuchin Franciscans Province of Mid-America, said that due to the privacy interests of the parties involved, the province does not make information regarding when and where alleged abuse occurred widely available. Regarding any ongoing criminal investigation, Elder said that although the matter was reported to law enforcement, the province did not know whether an investigation had begun or was ongoing. Elder said Scully’s future return to ministry had not yet been determined.