Release of Priest Who Sexually Abused Child Raises Concerns

Belleville News-Democratl
February 24, 2015

http://www.bnd.com/2015/02/24/3678096_release-of-abusive-priest-raises.html?rh=1

A former priest who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child is free after 12 years in prison, and advocates for victims of clergy abuse say they are worried about what could happen next.

[lken, 49, was released Monday from the state prison in Cameron, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http:]

Victims' advocates say the Archdiocese of St. Louis has a responsibility to protect the public.

"We believe it's disingenuous and dangerous for bishops to recruit, educate, ordain, hire, train, supervise, transfer and shield predator priests, but then defrock them when their crimes hit the headlines and do nothing else to protect the vulnerable from them," said David Clohessy of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

The archdiocese said in a statement that Wolken is no longer a priest and will be subject to all sex offender regulations. It also encourages anyone wishing to report misconduct with a minor to contact clergy, church or archdiocese personnel, or police.

"We continue to pray for the victims and families of the grave evil of sexual abuse," the statement read.

The nonprofit group Bishop Accountability says that between 275 and 300 Catholic clergy members have served prison terms in the United States since the scandal broke more than a decade ago.

Wolken admitted in 2002 that he sexually abused a Ballwin boy he helped care for as a baby sitter from 1997 to 2000. The archdiocese suspended him from his duties as associate pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows in south St. Louis.

Wolken was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2003. A civil suit cost the Archdiocese of St. Louis almost $1.7 million. St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch, in a 2006 letter opposing early release, called Wolken a dangerous individual.

Pat Wall, a victims' advocate with the Minnesota law firm Jeff Anderson & Associates, urged St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson to take every available step to protect the public, calling for direct communication with parishes to warn that Wolken has been released and use of church bulletins to urge other victims to come forward.