Local advocates want action on Kansas City priests accused of abuse

By Nick Sloan
KCTV
August 20, 2018

http://www.kctv5.com/story/38923503/local-advocates-want-action-on-kansas-city-priests-accused-of-abuse

Following a grand jury report in Pennsylvania accusing more than 300 priests of sexually abusing more than a 1,000 children, there are calls for the attorney generals in Missouri and Kansas to launch into allegations of abuse by the Catholic Church. 

Four men on Monday sat down in front of the TV cameras with representatives for the hundreds of people who say they’ve been sexually abused by priests.

Today the names of more than 200 accused priests in Kansas and Missouri were released, 45 of them are in the metro. 

“As we’ve seen today with the events in Pennsylvania, there is a need for accountability and true reconciliation within the church," said Scott Goodloe, victim of abuse.

Attorney Rebecca Randles said the revelation makes the case a "bigger scandal." 

“The numbers that we have compared to the population centers we have, make this probably an even bigger scandal," she said.  

The Missouri Attorney General's Office said the jurisdiction to investigate allegations "lies with the elected local prosecutor." 

“In Missouri, jurisdiction to investigate allegations of this kind of criminal activity lies with the elected local prosecutor, not the Attorney General. The Attorney General’s Office stands ready to assist local prosecutors," Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley's office said in a statement. 

The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office also released a statement: 

The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has placed a high priority on protecting children from all kinds of abuse. This includes children who witness violence knowing its harmful effects and long-term consequences. Through our grand jury, we investigated specific allegations against the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in 2011, resulting in an indictment of a church official for failure to protect children by failing to report abuse.

Following the prosecution, the Diocese instituted an ombudsman who regularly communicates with this office regarding potential allegations of abuse.

We welcome this partnership, but rest assured we won’t stand idle when children are victimized. We have reviewed and investigated other allegations of abuse by church officials since 2011. Those cases, however, proved to be beyond our reach for criminal charges because the statute of limitations had passed. Our ethical obligations prevent us from speaking in more detail about who those persons were or the exact nature of the allegations.

Finally, we wish to highlight the current church administration in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. It has been very active in bringing to our attention such allegations. We appreciate their diligent efforts and look forward to a continued partnership.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas released a statement on Monday. 

"We are concerned about victims of clergy sexual abuse, regardless of how long the abuse took place and we're committed to assisting them in their recovery. 

We also encourage anyone who feels they have been a victim of abuse by a priest, deacon, employee, or volunteer of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas to report that abuse. Both current and historic cases, such as those enumerated in the Pennsylvania grand jury report, are taken up by an Independent Review Board that is made up primarily of lay mental health and law enforcement professionals and includes a victim of clergy sexual abuse. 

The board receives the results of the investigation, offers to interview the person making the allegation and the accused, and then makes recommendations to me."