Dozens of new St. Louis area pedophile priest cases filed: SNAP responds
For Immediate Release July 25, 2024
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Missouri volunteer director of SNAP, 314 566 9790, davidgclohessy@gmail.com
We commend these wounded survivors for their courageous efforts to protect kids by exposing clergy who commit and conceal heinous crimes against children.
We are very grateful to them because any information about clergy sex crimes and cover ups is an immense gift to parents, police, prosecutors, parents, parishioners and the public. Girls and boys are safer now because these victims are speaking up and filing suits.
We’re not surprised that dozens more victims are now finding the strength to step forward and seek justice. It’s long been obvious that hundreds of clergy abuse victims are still suffering in shame, silence and self-blame, numbing their deep pain through drugs, alcohol, agoraphobia, anorexia and other self-destructive behavior. It’s also long been obvious that child abuse victims come forward when they are able to remember, recognize and deal with it, and not before.
This historic event is a giant step towards more safety for kids and more healing for victims. It reminds us of some deeply troubling fact that none of us want to think about and some of us want to deny.
We’re reminded that
--many predator priests are alive and are still around unsuspecting families and neighbors
--that’s largely bishops continue to protect them
--many child molesting clerics and their church supervisors have shrewdly exploited archaic, arbitrary and predator-friendly laws like the statute of limitations
--while church officials have disclosed thousands of names of abusers, they’re still protecting even more abusers
--in the process, bishops are still recklessly and callously protecting themselves, their comfort, reputations and careers, and
--few predator priests are behind bars, because of the on-going, well-orchestrated cover up by the Catholic hierarchy
Perhaps most important, these filings remind us that most child sexual abuse victims tell no one what they’ve suffered. Only a small percentage ever take action against those who have hurt them. An even smaller percentage find the strength and courage to expose predators in court. Again, we are very grateful to these 60 or so brave, caring and responsible victims who are coming forward now.
Survivors always have and always will speak up when they are able to do so. All of us should remember, understand and accept this. And we should praise and thank every single person who shares their trauma, no matter how and when they do so.
What should happen next?
--Every caring individual should tell friends, family and acquaintances - especially those who are or were Catholic - about each of these accused clerics and ask them 'Did any of these men hurt you in any way when you were younger?'
--Every current and former Catholic staffer or parishioner should spread this information about potentially dangerous and once dangerous abusers far and wide. It’s crucial that every person who was groped, raped or assaulted by a ‘man of God’ learns that they were not alone and not at fault.
--We’re encouraged to see that more victims of abusive nuns are finding their voices. We hope they will reach out to independent sources of help. We’re convinced that many more men and women who were fondled or assaulted as kids by nuns remain filled with shame and confusion. And many more abusive nuns remain ‘under the radar.’
--Scores of St. Louis families wonder why Bob or Denise is depressed, isolated, dropped out of school, won't keep a steady job, can't maintain a healthy intimate relationship and has suicidal thoughts. Our hearts ache for them.
We hope these relatives will learn that an alleged abuser took Bob camping or took Denise to the movies and will broach this awkward topic with them. That conversation just might help Bob or Denise begin the long process of healing from childhood wounds.
--We hope that these lawsuits will inspire many others to stop carrying the burden of child betrayal and trauma alone and start sharing their PAIN with spouses, friends, family, support groups and trusted, independent professional counselors and law enforcement personnel.
Imagine how many suffering victims, stuck trapped in shame, silence and self-blame, would have come forward sooner if only Catholic officials would have put forth any kind of real outreach effort.
It’s crucial that every person who was groped, raped or assaulted by a ‘man of God’ learns that they were not alone and not at fault.
--Several of the accused are identified only by partial names: Fr. Hart, Fr. Riker, Fr. Kennedy, Fr. Lyons, Fr. Bermann, Fr. Joe, Brother Anthoneous and others. We call on St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski to show compassion, foster healing and speed up the legal process by voluntarily and quickly providing more information about these alleged predators, instead of making parents, police, prosecutors, parishioners and the public learn more through a long, arduous battle in the courts.
-- Archbishop Rozanski should also stop protecting predators and start protecting kids. Starting this Sunday, he should go to every school or church where these child molesting clerics worked - especially those clerics who are alive and whose crimes have attracted little or no attention - and beg every victim, witness or whistleblower to call police and prosecutors immediately. He should also give to all law enforcement agencies every shred of paper about the accused that is in church files.
And he should stop lobbying against - and start lobbying for - new secular laws that will better protect kids. Missouri's archaic, arbitrary and predator-friendly statute of limitations on child sex crimes must be extended or eliminated. Victims of horrific violence must be able to use the open, time-tested US court system to expose criminals, both those who commit and those who conceal child sex crimes.
--Finally, no matter what happens in the courts, these admirable survivors have already won. We hope they’re realizing this. They’ve made huge strides towards rebuilding their lives and taking control of their futures. We hope they feel some relief and pride in having taken this big, brave step forward.
A few specific observations about these lawsuits:
---Some of the alleged crimes happened as recently as 2015 and 2011.
---At least ten of the clerics being sued are, as best we can tell, still alive and thus we must assume they’re still a threat to boys and girls. They include: Fr. Vatterott, Fr. Heier, Fr. McGrath, Fr. Grady, Fr. McLain and Fr. Hederman. (The latter two, as best we can tell, have never been sued before.)
--Several are being publicly accused of child sexual abuse for the first time. They include Fr. Bernard Suellentrop, Fr. James McLain, Fr. Edmund J. Fitzgibbons, Msgr. Fenton Joseph Runge, and Br. Ralph Wehner.
--Several are nuns. They include Sister Annette (Holy Innocents Catholic Parish, 1992-2002), Sister Mary David Joseph (St. Edwards Catholic Church, 1961) and Sister Eileen (Blessed Sacrament School, 1977-1981).
--Some have been found guilty in civil or criminal cases. They include Fr. Thomas Graham, Fr. James Beine and Fr. Donald Heck.
--A few have been ‘outed’ as ‘credibly accused’ by local church officials on one or more diocesan or archdiocesan websites but have not, as best SNAP can tell, ever been sued before. They include Fr. Vincent Heier, Fr. John Rausch and Fr. Willliam F. Vatterott.
--At least one was a parochial teacher, Gary Boehm, who once worked at DeSmet High School. Another was an employee of St. Joseph’s Boys Home in south St. Louis city.
--One victim was reportedly abused by three priests.
---A current archbishop is accused of abuse for the first time. He’s George Lucas of Omaha, who headed the seminary here for years and was also the bishop of Springfield Illinois diocese. (In St. Louis, he worked at parishes in Sunset Hills, Kirkwood, Florissant, Normandy and the city.)
Lucas is at least the fourth Missouri native who was promoted to prelate and was accused of child sexual abuse. Others include: Bishop Joseph Hart of the Cheyenne Wyoming diocese, Bishop Joseph V. Sullivan of Louisiana, Bishop Anthony O’Connell of the Knoxville TN and the Palm Beach FL dioceses. (Kansas City Bishop Robert Finn was not accused of abuse but is the only US bishop to have been found guilty of refusing to report suspected child sex crimes).
https://www.bishop-accountability.org/bishops/global-list-of-accused-bishops/#UnitedStates
https://www.bishop-accountability.org/accused/o-connell-anthony-j-1963/
https://www.bishop-accountability.org/accused/sullivan-joseph-vincent-1945/
---A decade ago, a St. Louis Judge Robert Dierker ordered the archdiocese to disclose the names of 115 of its employees accused of molesting children from 1983 to 2003.
https://fox2now.com/news/st-louis-archdiocese-complies-with-order-to-turn-over-priests-names/
Yet, even now, the official archdiocesan ‘credibly accused’ abusers list shows just 69 names.
So it’s long been clear that local Catholic officials continue putting their comfort, careers and reputations above the safety of kids, the healing of victims and their purported pledges of ‘transparency.’
Finally, no matter what happens in the courts, these admirable survivors have already won. They’ve made huge strides towards rebuilding their lives and taking control of their futures. We hope they feel some relief and pride in having taken this big, brave step forward.
(NOTE: Five lawsuits, each involving multiple accusers and accused abusers, have been filed in St. Charles County, Franklin County, Jefferson County, St. Louis County and St. Louis city. The initial Post-Dispatch story covered just one of them.)