Priest returned to ministry following investigation

Archdiocesan Review Board finds abuse allegations against archdiocesan priest and former priest were not credible

Father Carlton J. Beever, 57, who was placed on administrative leave on July 26, 2004, following allegations in a sexual misconduct lawsuit, was returned to ministry as pastor of St. Philip Neri Parish in Indianapolis on March 5.

The Archdiocesan Review Board recommended to Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein that Father Beever be returned to ministry after a thorough investigation concluded that the allegations were not credible.

The lawsuit alleged that Father Beever and then-Father Thomas J. Amsden, who resigned 11 years ago from active ministry as an archdiocesan priest, sexually abused the plaintiff in the 1970s while each was serving—at different times—as an associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Greensburg.

Father Beever, who was ordained in 1974, and Amsden had both denied the allegations.

Amsden, who was ordained in 1968, resigned from active ministry in 1995.

The Archdiocesan Review Board also found the allegations against Amsden to be not credible.

“It is regrettable that Father Beever and Tom Amsden have had to live through such a painful experience. They will need all our prayers and support,” Archbishop Buechlein said.

“If anything positive can be learned from this situation, it is that the process and procedures that we have set in place work. This is especially true of the central role played by the Archdiocesan Review Board, which you may recall comprises a former chief of police, a former deputy prosecuting attorney and head of the felony sex offense and child abuse unit, a licensed clinical psychologist in full-time practice, a licensed clinical social worker and the former head of child protective services for the state of Indiana, a corporate executive and civic leader, and a pastor,” the archbishop said.

The archdiocese continues to provide pastoral care and counseling to the victims of sexual abuse. The archdiocese continues to urge people to come forward to report sexual misconduct so that it can reach out to the victims.

Anyone who believes that he or she has been a victim—or who knows of anyone who has been a victim—of such misconduct should contact the archdiocesan victim assistance coordinator, Suzanne L. Yakimchick, chancellor, Archdiocese of Indianapolis, at P.O. Box 1410, Indianapolis, IN 46206-1410 or by calling 317-236-7325 or 800-382-9836, ext. 7325. †