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| Here’s What We Know about the Priests Accused of Abuse in Indianapolis Archdiocese’s List
By Holly V. Hays and Crystal Hill
Indianapolis Star
October 12, 2018
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/10/12/indianapolis-archidocese-list-priests-catholic-church-sex-abuse-what-we-know/1607215002/
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis on Thursday released the names of nearly 30 priests accused of abusing more than 100 children or young people.
Here's what we know:
Why release the list?
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson announced his intentions to compile and release the list at the end of August, weeks after a Pennsylvania grand jury released a report identifying 300 priests accused of abuse and more than 1,000 victims.
In an open letter published Aug. 29, Thompson apologized to all victims of clergy abuse and called for increased transparency.
"We must do everything necessary to make sure neither abuse nor cover-up ever happens again," he wrote.
Previously: Archdiocese of Indianapolis names priests accused of sex abuse
Who decides if an accusation is "credible?"
The Archdiocesan Review Board, comprising five laypersons and one clergy member, is tasked with investigating and reviewing each of the allegations. Current and past members of the board have held positions in law enforcement, the prosecutor’s office, child protective services, education, childhood development, psychology, social work and law, according to the archdiocese.
A "credible" allegation is considered “more likely to be true than not," the archdiocese said.
Who are the priests?
The list includes 19 priests for the archdiocese and four who were members of religious orders who served in the archdiocese, dating back to the 1940s. The diocese also released the names of priests accused of improper relationships with “vulnerable” adults and others who were deceased before their allegations were reported and the allegations were not substantiated.
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis could not provide additional details on where and for how long the accused priests served in ministry. To obtain further information on their ministerial roles, IndyStar reviewed newspaper archives, obituaries, parish websites and Bishop Accountability, a clergy abuse watchdog site. Here's what we found:
William Leroy Blackwell
Number of victims: 8
Ordained May 3, 1957
Alleged time of abuse: 1958; 1964-68
Current state: Deceased
According to IndyStar archives, Blackwell taught at the now-closed St. Mary School in Richmond, Indiana, according to two separate lawsuits filed in 2004. The suits allege that Blackwell sexually abused two boys between 1956 and 1961. He died in 1990, according to the archdiocese.
Edward Theodore Bockhold
Number of victims: 2
Ordained May 20, 1920
Alleged time of abuse: 1949, 1961
Current state: Deceased
Bockhold was the pastor at the former Holy Trinity Church in Indianapolis from 1938 to 1969, according to the diocese's website.
Conrad Louis Cambron
Number of victims: 2
Alleged time of abuse: 1978, 1980
Current state: Resigned from the priesthood in 1985
Cambron was ordained in 1976 at St. Meinrad, according to St. John the Baptist, Starlight in Floyds Knobs.
Jeffrey James Charlton
Number of victims: 3
Alleged time period of abuse:1982, 1984, 1986-87
Current state: Resigned 1995, removed from clerical state in Nov. 2014
Charlton was ordained May 2, 1983. According to IndyStar archives, Charlton served as an associate pastor at St. Mark Catholic Church and an associate pastor at St. Simon Catholic Church, now known as St. Simon the Apostle.
He resigned from the priesthood in 1995 and was removed from the clerical state on Nov. 17, 2014, according to the archdiocese.
Samuel Thomas Curry
Number of victims: 7
Ordained June 6, 1970
Alleged time period of abuse: 1970s
Current state: Deceased
Curry served as a priest at St. Jude Catholic Church in Spencer, according to a report by the Associated Press. A 2004 lawsuit alleged he sexually abused two girls in the 1970s. Curry died in 1991.
Albert Vincent Deery
Number of victims: 23
Ordained May 17, 1921
Alleged time period of abuse: 1950s-1970s
Current state: Deceased
A website for St. Augustine and Most Sacred Heart of Jesus parishes in Clark County indicate that Deery was a pastor at St. Augustine. In 2003, 11 people alleged they were sexually abused by Deery while attending St. Augustine Catholic Elementary School in Jeffersonville in the 1950s and 60s, according to a (Louisville) Courier-Journal article shared to Bishop Accountability.
Deery died in 1972.
Jack F. Emrich
Number of victims: 1
Ordained Jan. 17, 1998
Alleged time period of abuse: 1970s
Current state: Removed from ministry in 2003
Emrich was an associate pastor at Saint Matthew Catholic Church from June 1999 to August 2000, according to the church’s website.
Donald J. Evrard
Number of victims: 5
Ordained May 3, 1956
Alleged time period of abuse: 1977, 1985
Current state: Deceased
Evrard was a pastor at St. Lawrence parish in Lawrenceburg, according to a 1998 lawsuit. The suit alleged Evrard abused a woman at the parish in 1974 when she was 5 years old and continued abusing her for four years.
After leaving St. Lawrence in 1978, Evrard worked at three other southern Indiana parishes, according to a 1998 IndyStar article. Then, from 1985 to 1992, he served as associate pastor at St. Therese of the Infant Jesus Catholic Church — more commonly known as Little Flower — on Indianapolis' east side. He left his job as a chaplain at St. Vincent Hospital after the woman went public.
Evrard was removed from priestly ministry in 1998 and died in 2008.
Micheal Howard Kelley
Number of victims: 2
Ordained June 1, 1985
Alleged time period of abuse: 1990, 1992
Current state: Removed from ministry in 2003
Kelly was stripped of his duties in January 2003, according to IndyStar archives. He resigned in August 2002 as pastor of St. John the Baptist in Starlight. He admitted to past sexual misconduct with adults, according to IndyStar archives.
Joseph Stanley Kos
Number of victims: 3
Ordained May 1, 1966
Alleged time period of abuse: 1980s
Current state: Deceased
The Rev. Joseph Stanley Kos was a chaplain for Wishard Memorial Hospital, now Eskenazi, when he died. Previously, he was he was an administrator and pastor at St. Thomas Catholic Church, Fortville, and was an instructor at Bishop Chatard and Cardinal Ritter high schools, according to an Aug. 10, 2000, obituary that appeared in IndyStar.
Laurence Michael Lynch
Number of victims: 1
Ordained May 3, 1960
Alleged time period of abuse: 1972-73
Current state: Deceased
Larry served as an archdioceses priest for 19 years, and was a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church, according to his 2009 obituary.
Rev. John Maung is seen during an interview in his office a St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shelbyville in 1998. Buy Photo
Rev. John Maung is seen during an interview in his office a St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shelbyville in 1998. (Photo: Rob Goebel/IndyStar)
John S. Maung
Number of victims: 1
Ordained May 1, 1963
Alleged time period of abuse: 1993-1997
Current state: Removed from ministry in 2018
Maung was removed from public ministry in August after allegations against him surfaced. Maung, who retired in 2009 but continued to assist at various parishes, has denied the claims, according to the archdiocese.
He has served at the St. Lawrence parish in Indianapolis, the St. Gabriel parish in Connersville and the St. Joseph parish in Shelbyville and resided at the Holy Spirit parish in Indianapolis.
Harold E. Monroe
Number of victims: 16
Ordained June 8, 1974
Alleged time period of abuse: 1976-1982
Current state: Removed from clerical state in April 2011
Monroe has served as an associate pastor at St. Catherine’s, St. Andrew and St. Monica’s parishes in Indianapolis, according to Bishop Accountability. He was removed from the priesthood in 1984 and was removed from the clerical state in 2011.
The Rev. Jack Okon is shown with his dogs Feb. 8 2002 Buy Photo
The Rev. Jack Okon is shown with his dogs Feb. 8 2002 (Photo: John Strauss/IndyStar)
Eugene Jack Okon
Number of victims: 4
Ordained Dec. 18, 1970
Alleged time period of abuse: 1974
Current state: Deceased
Okon resigned from priestly ministry in May 2003 after he was accused of molesting two teenage boys while the priest was assigned to St. Therese of the Infant Jesus — now Little Flower — and St. Simon parishes in Indianapolis from 1974 to 1977, according to a May 2003 IndyStar article.
Roger Gerard Rudolf
Number of victims: 1
Ordained June 6, 1992
Alleged time period of abuse: 1987-88
Current state: Removed from clerical state in May 2015
Rudolf served as an associate pastor at Christ the King Catholic Church from 1992 to 1993, according to the parish's website. He was removed from the ministry in 2002.
Frederick Adam Schmitt
Number of victims: 3
Ordained May 11, 1959
Alleged time period of abuse: 1973-74
Current state: Deceased
Schmitt served as an associate pastor at Little flower in 1960. He became pastor in 1977, according to the parish's website. He died in 1998, according to the archdiocese.
Headshot of the Rev. John B. Schoettelkotte from Indianapolis Catholic Archdiocese annual directory.
Headshot of the Rev. John B. Schoettelkotte from Indianapolis Catholic Archdiocese annual directory. (Photo: Provided, IndyStar archives)
John Bernard Schoettelkotte
Number of victims: 5
Alleged time period of abuse: 1964-67
Current state: Removed from ministry in 2003
Schoettelkotte resigned in 2003 after local Catholic officials substantiated an allegation that he abused a woman 30 years ago, according to IndyStar archives. The church said at the time that he had engaged in sexual misconduct with “girls and woman.”
Schoettelkotte was ordained on May 3, 1960, and had assignments in Greensburg, Greencastle, Greenwood, New Albany, Bloomington, Columbus and North Vernon.
Myles Hale Patrick Smith
Number of victims: 3
Alleged time period of abuse: 1976-1988
Current state: Deceased
Father Myles Smith was ordained at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Indianapolis in July 1970. He was a pastor at St. John the Apostle Church in Bloomington from July 1982 to August 1995, according to an obituary posted by Saint Meinrad Seminary & School of Theology. He died in 2012.
Jonathan Lovill Stewart
Number of victims: 1
Alleged time period of abuse: 1993
Current state: Removed from ministry in 2003
Stewart served at St. Charles Borromeo Parish, now known as St. Charles church, from 1993 to 1999, according to a 2005 report by the Associated Press. A lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 2005 alleged that Stewart molested a boy during that time. Church records indicated that the abuse ended in 1993, according to that AP report.
The four religious order priests who have served in the archdiocese:
Brennan Harris
Number of victims: 1
Alleged time period of abuse: 1971
Current state: Deceased
Harris, who was ordained in 1969, was removed from priestly ministry by the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation, according to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He died in 1985.
The Rev. Bernard Knoth is shown in this October 1996 file photo taken at the university in New Orleans.
The Rev. Bernard Knoth is shown in this October 1996 file photo taken at the university in New Orleans. (Photo: AP)
Bernard Knoth
Number of victims: 1
Alleged time period of abuse: 1978
Current state: Removed from clerical state
The Indianapolis native was ordained in 1977 and served at the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago before serving as the principal of Indianapolis' Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School from 1986-88, according to Bishop Accountability. He later served at universities in Washington, D.C., and Chicago before being named president of Loyola University in New Orleans.
He resigned from his position at Loyola in 2003 after being accused of sexual misconduct with a Brebeuf student in 1986, according to IndyStar archives. He was removed from the clerical state the same year.
Donald O’Shaughnessy
Number of victims: 2
Alleged time period of abuse: 1965
Current state: Deceased
O'Shaughnessy was ordained by the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus in 1955 and had assignments in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Milford, Ohio, Oakland, California, and Clarkston, Michigan, according to Bishop Accountability. O'Shaughnessy worked at Brebeuf Preparatory School from 1965-67 before being assigned to the Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill. He died in 2013.
Roman Pfalzer
Number of victims: 2
Alleged time period of abuse: 1953-54
Current state: Deceased
Pfalzer spent 73 years as a Franciscan friar of the Province of St. John the Baptist, according to his obituary. He was ordained as a priest in 1947. He was removed from ministry prior to his 2011 death, according to the archdiocese.
The two priests who are the subjects of “credible” allegations involving adults who were adolescents when the emotional aspects of the relationship began:
Father Patrick DoyleBuy Photo
Father Patrick Doyle (Photo: Mpozi Mshale Tolbert/IndyStar)
Patrick Andrew Doyle
Number of victims: 1
Alleged time of abuse: 1987
Current state: Removed from ministry in 2018
Doyle resigned this week from Nativity Parish in Indianapolis, where he had served as pastor since 2011.
Doyle has held various roles in ministry, including as a full-time instructor at Bishop Chatard High School and as a priest moderator at St. Maurice parish in Napoleon.
Karl Joseph Miltz
Number of victims: 1
Alleged time of abuse: 1974
Current state: Removed from clerical state in Dec. 2005
Mitlz was ordained in 1969 and removed from the ministry in 1998, according to the archdiocese.
Four members of the clergy had claims of abuse against them but were deceased before the allegations were reported. The board had no way to substantiate the claims against them, but their names are being released “out of an abundance of caution and transparency,” the archdiocese said. The four:
John Stanley Kramer
Number of victims: 1
Ordained May 3, 1944
Alleged time of abuse: 1947-1952
Died 1986
William Kreis
Number of victims: 1
Ordained May 28, 1904
Alleged time of abuse: 1944-46
Died 1954
James Joseph Shanahan
Number of victims: 1
Ordained May 27, 1947
Alleged time of abuse: 1958
Died 1992
George Peter Ziemer
Number of victims: 1
Ordained June 10, 1919
Alleged time of abuse: 1955-57
Died 1980
What are advocates saying?
Victim advocates told IndyStar that releasing the names is a step in the right direction but believe the archdiocese should have made the information available earlier. They also have called for a statewide probe similar to the Pennsylvania grand jury.
“Unfortunately, the church only does it kicking and screaming, when it’s confronted with the possibility of indictments, investigations, et cetera,” said Robert Hoatson, a former priest and the president of Road to Recovery, an organization that assists victims of sex abuse.
Attorney General Curtis Hill's office told IndyStar in September that while the allegations of clergy sex abuse in the Pennsylvania report are "beyond reprehensible," such an investigation in Indiana would have to begin at a local level and result from specific criminal charges.
How to report
Those who have been the victim of sexual abuse or harassment by a member of the clergy are encouraged to contact civil authorities and the archdiocesan victim assistance coordinator, Carla Hill. Hill can be reached 317-236-1548 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1548, or by e-mail at carlahill@archindy.org.
Reports can also be submitted online at archdioceseofindianapolis.ethicspoint.com.
Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.
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