St. Nicholas pastor says children in parish school were ‘not placed in harm’s way’

Shaken by the sudden firing of the parish school principal, parishioners of St. Nicholas Catholic Church heard assurances from their pastor Sunday that no students in the school had been harmed.

“Based on the evidence I have heard, I am satisfied that our schoolchildren were not placed in harm’s way,” the Rev. Mark A. Guzman told the congregation at 11 a.m. Mass.

Davin Reyes, the principal of St. Nicholas Catholic School, lost his job last week after allegations surfaced that he supplied drugs, alcohol and money to a student while at his previous teaching job at a Seattle high school.

The Archdiocese of Seattle received “credible allegations” that Reyes had given the items to a student at O’Dea High School, according to spokeswoman Helen McClenahan.

“Because of this, he was terminated as principal of St. Nicholas and his case was turned over to police,” McClenahan said. The Archdiocese’s legal team contacted Seattle police in December, she said.

Father Guzman said the parish faced “a trying time,” but “we will move forward.”

St. Nicholas named Felicia Read, a teacher, as interim principal. Ms. Reed has a master’s degree in education and “was already on the principal track,” Father Guzman said.

It was the second trauma in recent years for the historic Gig Harbor parish. Several years ago, a popular young priest was removed for reasons the archdiocese never revealed, and feelings in the parish are still raw about it, Father Guzman said.

“It seems like every time we take one step forward, we get hit with something else,” Father Guzman said.

In a sometimes emotional homily on Sunday, Father Guzman acknowledged that he had known about the accusations against Reyes since Dec. 9, when the principal took personal leave after a visit from a chancery official, but “I could not speak about it. Because the investigation was ongoing, I was forbidden.”

He also made a point of stressing that the accusations were both credible and serious.

“The archdiocese does not terminate employees based on rumor, based on hearsay, or based on a simple mistake,” he said.

Given the accusation, he said, “There was nothing left to do but terminate his employment, and his case has been turned over to local law enforcement.”

In the Catholic school system, schools are associated with parishes, but hiring, firing and discipline are the responsibility of the local archdiocese. Since clerical abuse became a hot issue in the last decade, dioceses are under pressure to act decisively when accusations surface.

Reyes, a layman, has been principal at the K-8 school since 2018. Previously, he taught Spanish and religion at O’Dea, an all-boys school, from 2008-2018, according to McClenahan.

In a brief interview, Father Guzman said there were no accusations of sexual abuse against Reyes, and that the accusations about drugs and liquor were apparently the result of “party behavior” with students while he was at O’Dea.

Attempts to reach Reyes for comment were unsuccessful.

A Link-In page said Reyes graduated from Seattle University in 2000 with a degree and Spanish language and literature, earned a master’s degree in education from Portland University in 2007 and a doctorate from Grand Canyon University in 2018.

Although St. Nicholas has been in Gig Harbor more than 100 years, the school is relatively new. It was founded by parishioners in 1995 as Holy Family School, an independent Catholic School. In 2000, it was incorporated into the parish. It currently serves about 160 students in kindergarten though eighth grade.

During Mass on Sunday, Father Guzman asked for prayers for both Reyes and his accuser. He said he will later announce “a day of prayer and reflection” for the parish.

He also cautioned against gossip, which he called “Satan’s plan to divide us.”

“Do not participate in gossip, not about Mr. Reyes, not about his former students, not about anybody else,” he said.

He asked parishioners to concentrate on “our wonderful children, who are learning and growing and flourishing in our school.”

“We are not perfect, but we will move forward, he said. “Will you stand by your pastor?”

The congregation rose and applauded.

Craig Sailor of The News Tribune contributed to this story