After two years of delays and a victory before the Arizona Supreme Court, a suspended Roman Catholic priest finally appears close to having his day in court.A date for the trial of Monsignor Dale Fushek on misdemeanor sex charges may be set June 12, when he returns to San Tan Justice Court for the first time since his case was interrupted by two years of pre-trial appeals.
A cloud of suspicion has been hanging over Fushek, 55, since December 2004, when he was named in a civil suit that accused him of watching and performing a sex act on himself while another priest sodomized a 14-year-old boy in 1985.
Once the second-highest-ranking official in the Diocese of Phoenix, Fushek was placed on administrative leave and banned from participating in public ministry.
In November 2005, prosecutors filed a criminal complaint charging him with misdemeanor sex acts, including indecent exposure, assault and five counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The charges date back more than 20 years, when Fushek was pastor of St. Timothy Catholic Community in Mesa and founded Life Teen, an international ministry for teens.
Supporters of Fushek who founded a spin-off church where he preaches, and the Diocese of Phoenix, which considers him "a disobedient priest," both say they are pleased to see the misdemeanor case head back to court for some sort of outcome.
The Diocese settled the civil case out of court.
"I'd be glad to have this behind us. To have it behind us would be great," said Brad Kuluris, a spokesman for the Praise and Worship Center, a church founded mostly by St. Timothy parishioners who missed Fushek's homilies and hired him as preacher.
But no one at the center, which meets in west Mesa, is dwelling on Fushek's legal problems as they build a new religious community, he said.
"We all know the situation," Kuluris said. "None of us are focused on that. We're talking about misdemeanors. We're not really worried about that."
Jim Dwyer, a spokesman for the Diocese who has criticized the Praise and Worship Center's formation and Fushek's participation, also said he welcomes the trial.
The Diocese is no longer paying Fushek and is not paying for his defense.
"I think anyone involved in this is looking forward to a resolution," Dwyer said. "All you can hope for is that there is healing and reconciliation for everyone, including Fushek. That won't happen until there's a resolution."
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