An Altar Boy's Account of Janssen and His Circle
"Growing up in Fort Madison was exciting and adventurous for me. I was born in 1952. There were woods to explore, a swimming pool at the other end of town that I rode my bike to and, of course, the Mississippi. My childhood was happy.... The first sexual abuse happened in 1964, when I was 12 years old.... I was helping Father Janssen clean up the office (I felt so proud that he had asked me to help him).... These three priests (Fathers Janssen, Geerts and Bass) took from me my religion and most regrettably my belief in God!" To read more...

Dear Bishop Franklin...
"A respected member of our parish has identified himself as a victim of inappropriate sexual behavior by a priest while ministering to our parish, and S.S. Philip & James parishioners have been directly affected by these allegations facing the Diocese of Davenport. As members of Christ's body, we are writing this letter in hopes that you may fully understand the impact this situation has on our parish. We can no longer maintain our silence, as silence constitutes consent to sexual abuse of our children. We use the words of our Holy Father; that sexual abuse of young people is 'by every standard wrong and rightly considered a crime by society; it is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God.'" Read the rest of this historic document...

I Wanted to Stop Him from Trying to Molest Others
"This is not to say that Father Bass caused me no suffering. He did, but the young boy he tried to molest many years ago escaped his web and is now an old man. I have met many miscreants, tyrants, and perverts since then, and Father Bass simply helped me prepare to deal with them. What hurt the most then, and troubles me even today, is that nobody I have ever spoken to from the Davenport diocese would ever stop him.... Then it was time for confession. I had come to doubt the concept. Father Bass would always want to dwell on sexual issues, and confession dragged on. It was late when we finished, and Father Bass told me it was too crowded downstairs, and that we should share his upstairs bed." Trying many times to alert the diocese...

Fr. McAleer Tells Bishop O'Keefe about Janssen
"It was at this time that he revealed this information to his wife. He also came to me, revealed how he had been taken in by Father Janssen and was involved in such actions as are of great shame to him today. It affects his respect for authority, especially church authority. In our conversation he told me that he knew priests would "take care of their own" and would cover up. It was at this time that I assured him I would report to you what had happened.... After coming to know this information about Fr. Janssen and his activities with boys, I refused to let him stay at St. Mary's Rectory. Previously he has stayed overnight with a young man and insisted that they would use the same room and that it was fine to share the bed." Read more...

A Timeline Linked to the Documents
"Court documents obtained by The Des Moines Register detail allegations of sexual misconduct by priests James Janssen, Francis Bass and Theodore Anthony Geerts, and the Davenport Diocese's response. The documents were drawn from material obtained from the diocese by attorneys for people who have sued alleging abuse, some of which were found in a locked safe in the basement of the diocese's office." Explore more Davenport documents...