Denby Fawcett: Church Can’t Seem To Stop Using Name Of Pedophile Priest
St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua has recently referred to its parish hall as “Father Henry Hall” on its website, in maps, and even as a pickup location听for children.
Sometimes people call me with information that鈥檚 so maddening I wish I had never heard it.
Such was a call I received recently from a friend who told me in Kailua is still referring to its parish hall as 鈥淔ather Henry Hall.鈥
Father Joseph Henry was a听serial child sex abuser.
One of his听victims, on learning that the now deceased Catholic priest鈥檚 name is still on the church website, was surprised and upset.
鈥”Father Henry destroyed many lives,” says John Michael Pedro Jr. of Kailua. “His name should not be anywhere, not on St. Anthony鈥檚 parish building, not on the website, not in church publications.”
And yet it has been.

鈥淔ather Henry Hall鈥 was listed in the church鈥檚 website as a meeting place for the 鈥淕rades Nine and Above鈥 youth ministry. 鈥淔ather Henry Hall鈥 is mentioned in maps and announcements in the St. Anthony鈥檚 school鈥檚 2016-2017 handbook , and听 鈥淔ather Henry Hall鈥 as听 the site for parents to听pick up their children 鈥淔or the St. Anthony Child Pick-up Plan.鈥
The Catholic Diocese of Honolulu has settled more lawsuits for Father Henry鈥檚 alleged sexual predation than any other priest in Hawaii.
Pedro, 68, is one of 25 men who accused Father Henry of sexually molesting them when they were children. The听retired city bus driver says the priest sexually attacked him when he was an 8-year-old elementary school student at St. Anthony鈥檚, where he also attended church and served as Father Henry鈥檚 altar boy.
The Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and the 听(Father Henry鈥檚 order) settled Pedro鈥檚 lawsuit last month.
When I called St. Anthony鈥檚听 to find out why the accused sexual predator鈥檚 name is still appearing in written references to 鈥淔ather Henry Hall,鈥 church administrator Father Exsequel Tuyor听did not return my calls or answer my email.听

Instead, church business manager Lucy Poueu called me the next day. Poueu said the parish priests were too busy to talk to me. She said she was surprised that Father Henry鈥檚 name was in church notices and bulletins.
鈥淪ometimes people make mistakes,” she says. “Sometimes things are done without even thinking.听We apologize. We try to make sure we don鈥檛 use his name anywhere.鈥
By going online Thursday, I discovered my alert might have made a difference. 鈥淔ather Henry Hall鈥 had been deleted from all references in both the school and church websites except for 鈥淔ather Henry Hall鈥 on听a map that鈥檚 still in the school鈥檚 handbook.听
Father Henry died in 1974, yet his name lives on in lawsuits. And unfortunately, it apparently been difficult to erase entirely from the church.
鈥淔ather Henry鈥檚 name is a stain they haven鈥檛 washed away,” says attorney Mark Gallagher.听“They are just not trying hard enough.鈥
Gallagher has filed lawsuits on behalf of 10 of Father Henry鈥檚 alleged victims, including Pedro.

Father Henry, a Maryknoll priest, served at St. Anthony鈥檚 as pastor and eventually became the superintendent of the church and school, where he served until he died.听After his death, he was celebrated by the St. Anthony鈥檚 parish with many services, including a special Mass for the school children.
His alleged victims now are in their 50s, 60s and 70s. Some died before the church settled their lawsuits. Their claims have been so credible that the Diocese of Honolulu and Father Henry鈥檚 religious order have settled with almost every one 鈥 a few are still pending.
鈥淭he diocese has settled so many claims from Father Henry鈥檚 accusers there can be no doubt about his character and conduct,鈥 Gallagher says.

Attorney Randall Rosenberg says Father Henry also sought child victims outside of the church. Rosenberg says Henry convinced officials at the Koolau Boys Home, where he was counseling troubled boys, to let him take certain boys to sleep-overs at his Kailua house, where he sexually molested them.
St. Anthony鈥檚 was forced to take down听the Father Henry sign from the parish hall in October 2015 after听Rosenberg insisted that the sign鈥檚 removal听be a pre-condition to settlements.
Rosenberg says he insisted on the sign removal after one of his clients visited St. Anthony鈥檚 for a service and was stunned and hurt to see the priest’s name still on the hall.听The man then blurted out to his wife about all the sexual humiliation he had suffered at the church as a child, Rosenberg says, adding the client had never told his wife before.
Rosenberg听says he has filed claims with the diocese and the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers for 15 of Father Henry鈥檚 victims, and all have been settled.
Still, says Rosenberg, people continued to call his office saying they didn鈥檛 believe Father Henry could have sexually harmed children.

鈥淔ather Henry was charismatic. He was immensely popular.听Under his leadership the parish became three times larger. Some church members told me they loved him like a family member,” says Rosenberg.
鈥淲e had an agreement. In the future, the building is supposed to be called 鈥淧arish Hall,鈥 not 鈥淔ather Henry Hall,鈥 says Rosenberg.
Gallagher says St. Anthony鈥檚 should have paid better attention to the continuing use of the name.
Gallagher represented Mark Pinkosh, the first victim of Father Henry听to talk publicly about a settlement he had reached with the Catholic Church.
Pinkosh accused Father Henry and then Father Joseph Ferrario听 of sexually abusing him in the late 1960s when he was a fourth-grader attending after-school programs and serving as an altar boy at St. Anthony鈥檚.
Pinkosh said of Father Henry:听鈥He raped me. It wasn鈥檛 just touching. It was violent sex.鈥

Almost immediately after he was sexually attacked, Pinkosh told two nuns and another priest at the church, but none of them informed Pinkosh鈥檚 parents or called the police. One of the nuns slapped Pinkosh and told him to stop lying.
Later, Pinkosh sought help and counseling from then St. Anthony鈥檚 Father Ferrario, whom he says listened intently and then raped him himself.
Ferrario later became bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu, from 1982 to 1993. He was the first Catholic bishop to be accused of sexually abusing children in his past at St .Anthony of Padua Church and St. Stephen鈥檚 Seminary. Ferrario died in 2003.
The Catholic Diocese of Honolulu and the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers settled Pinkosh鈥檚 complaint in 2015.
I reached Pinkosh by phone in London, where he is working as a playwright, to tell him about the continuing references to Father Henry Hall at St. Anthony鈥檚.
Pinkosh emailed this reply:
It would be nice if St. Anthony of Padua Church would add an听 鈥渁men鈥 to Pinkosh鈥檚 statement.
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