Clergyman tends to inmates’ special needs

Stacy J. Willis

Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2000 | 11:33 a.m.

Tim Simmons is standing in a Catholic church preparing to voluntarily admit himself into a substance abuse rehabilitation program. But Simmons is not Catholic. He was raised Pentecostal. And the priest who brought him here, the Rev. Dave Casaleggio, no longer works at Our Lady of Las Vegas, a 43-year-old parish in the throes of rapid growth.

Casaleggio and Simmons met in prison. In 1980, Simmons was a 20-year-old doing time for felony DUI; Casaleggio was a full-time prison priest. Simmons' road has been rocky -- out of incarceration since 1988, he recently had a relapse with his abuse of methamphetamines.

But he credits his long-term relationship with Casaleggio with keeping him out of further trouble.

"He's never pushed religion on me, but he's been a real guiding factor in my life. I wish my life better reflected his influence, but I don't even like to think about where I'd be without him," Simmons said. "I don't think I would've ever made it out of prison."

This week Casaleggio moves from the polite rituals of the church back to the straight talk in Nevada's prison yards, making him the diocese's only full-time, paid Catholic prison priest.

His reassignment draws attention to thin ranks of Catholic leaders -- in Las Vegas, one of the fastest-growing dioceses in the nation, there are 91 priests and more than 425,000 parishioners. Some of the 91 priests are "on loan" from San Francisco until seven seminarians can graduate and be assigned to the diocese. Additionally, the diocese is bishopless -- Bishop Daniel Walsh was reassigned last spring to Santa Rosa, Calif., and the diocese awaits the Pope's assignment of a new bishop.

Casaleggio's reassignment also calls attention to the church's tough administrative decision: with a limited supply of leaders, should it minister to the city's devout and growing number of Catholic parishioners, or to the spiritual needs inside penitentiaries?

"Ideally, we'd like to have small little parishes and plenty of priests to go around, but that doesn't seem to be our lot," said Monsignor Patrick Leary, who is temporarily leading the diocese.

"Still, the prison ministry is an intrinsic part of the gospel. Jesus had a deep commitment toward those who need reconciliation," Leary said. While the population of the Catholic Diocese grows with the city, the prison population of Nevada does not lag behind.

There are 9,562 inmates in the state system today, up from 5,572 in 1990. Laypeople and chaplains of other faiths, as well as priests who volunteer in their spare time, also provide spiritual counseling in the state's prisons.

"But we need a full-time priest to coordinate their efforts in the prisons," Leary said.

Casaleggio will split his time between prisons in the Southern Nevada area, including the soon-to-open High Desert State Prison in Cold Springs.

"Some people say these people had their chance and messed it up, that they killed people and don't deserve a second chance," Casaleggio said of inmates. "But I want to let people know that they are still a creation of God, no matter what they've done. I teach the inmates to believe in themselves, to admit their wrongdoings, and to have hope."

Casaleggio was a prison priest in Carson City for eight years, ending in 1988. He then spent six years at St. Christopher's Catholic Church in Las Vegas and six years at Our Lady of Las Vegas.

When Casaleggio was reassigned to a prison post this summer, some parishioners at Our Lady were dismayed.

"We need him here. He does so well with the younger generation here, and I know a lot of people who are going to leave because he's going," Lynn Santistevan, a parishioner, said. But Santistevan says she understands the importance of prison priests because her husband, Danny Santistevan, a former prison inmate, is a longtime friend and follower of Casaleggio.

Danny Santistevan met Casaleggio after serving time in prison for cocaine distribution. Now a construction worker who attends Our Lady, Santistevan speaks to the importance of prison chaplains.

"Father Dave has done a lot of good at that church and I hate to see him go, but if he has to go, I'm glad it's to prison because those people need help in there. And they need somebody to tell it like it is, which is what Dave does. It can be very tough in there, very hard. I'm sure he's going to help people inside," Danny Santistevan said.

"Being in prison and getting out is a time when you need help the most."