Survivors network: Church, Hawley slow to oust sex abusers

By Pat Pratt
Columbia Daily Tribune
December 1, 2018

https://bit.ly/2ALpwRU

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests says the Jefferson City Diocese and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley are not doing enough to investigate and raise awareness of sex abuse by clergy.

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight released in November a list of 33 names of Jefferson City Diocese clergy that had been “credibly accused” of illicit sexual acts involving minors. The list came during a listening tour regarding the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and on the heels of an announced investigation by Hawley.

David Clohessy, St. Louis director and longtime member of SNAP, says the list is incomplete. He claims that three names, one being a priest who lived in a Columbia rectory and was later deemed a sexually violent predator, were not included.

“It just takes seconds, literally seconds for a predator to shove his hands in a child’s pants,” Clohessy said. “If they know that predator, especially a serial predator, was in the diocese, then McKnight owes it to the parents and parishioners to let them know.”

Father Fred Lenczycki worked at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Columbia and another parish in St. James in the mid-1980s, according to a SNAP information release. He was arrested and convicted in 2004 of abusing three boys in the Joliet, Illinois, area, where he was ordained, and is believed to have molested many more children in multiple states. His current whereabouts are unknown.

The other omitted names are those of Father John C. Baskett and Father Kenneth J. Roberts. Baskett, the release states, worked in Boonville and Tipton and was accused in 2007 of abusing a 15-year-old girl for two years and using alcohol to incapacitate her.

A lawsuit against him was settled in 2008. He worked in two other Missouri dioceses, Kansas City and Springfield-Cape Girardeau, then moved to North Carolina and worked as a military chaplain.

Roberts lived in Osage Beach, was ordained as a Dallas priest and traveled the U.S. lecturing and promoting his book “From Playboy to Priest,” according to the release. According to the website BishopAccountability.org, he was originally sent to Missouri for treatment and is accused of molesting at least seven boys, including one in Belleville, Illinois.

Director of Diocesan Communications Helen Osman said in an email response that SNAP’s claims are incorrect because none of the men were priests in the Diocese of Jefferson City.

“SNAP’s assertions that the Diocese of Jefferson City omitted three men from its list of credibly accused are not correct,” Osman said. “None of the three men requested or received permission to function as a priest in the Diocese of Jefferson City. No allegations against any of the three have ever been made to the Diocese of Jefferson City.”

Osman said the Jefferson City Diocese was founded in 1956 and Baskett’s alleged assignments in Boonville and Tipton are prior to that year, when those parishes were part of the Diocese of Kansas City. She said Roberts was ordained for the Diocese of Dallas and operated throughout the United States as a speaker, including in the Diocese of Jefferson City, but was never granted faculties.

Lenczycki had requested permission to serve as a priest in the Diocese of Jefferson City, and Osman said the diocese was alerted to letters in which he indicated he was living at the rectory of Our Lady of Lourdes in Columbia and had celebrated Mass at St. James.

“These documents were published by a lawyer and supposedly in the files of the Diocese of Joliet,” Osman said. “We were alerted to their existence by a news reporter. Regardless, Bishop McKnight wrote a letter that was read on Nov. 3 and 4 at the parishes where he supposedly served asking anyone with information to come forward. No one has presented any allegations at this time to us.”

Clohessy said that is irrelevant, the priests were still in the community and had access to children and residents, and their names should have been on the list.

“In all fairness, the bishop says they never asked for or got formal permission to work in the diocese,” Clohessy said. “Our position is, that is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is, one of them, Father Fred, says that he did work in the diocese. (He) said it in writing in a document that was in a church file and says that he lived in a rectory in Columbia.”

Hawley in August announced an investigation of clergy sex abuse in Missouri. SNAP dismissed it as “playing politics” and worthless because Hawley is not issuing subpoenas but instead relying on voluntary cooperation of the church.

“We are disappointed so far,” Clohessy said. “We are trying to remain hopeful and we are certainly encouraging the victims and whistle blowers that we know to call Mr. Hawley’s office. In addition we encourage them to call law enforcement as well. Hawley has said he doesn’t have subpoena power and cannot compel witnesses to come and testify under oath.”

Clohessy said the organization finds that hard to believe. He said Hawley claims he needs legislative or gubernatorial assistance in seeking testimony but is apparently not seeking that assistance.

“Our position is OK, go seek that help,” Clohessy said. “There are 114 prosecutors in Missouri. Certainly one is willing to team up with him.

“We are skeptical, but hopeful,” he added.

Mary Compton, Communications Director for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, said the office is working to investigate and is seeking court orders and other material from Catholic organizations across the state.

“The AGO has sought personnel records, records relating to allegations of abuse, and other potentially relevant materials from Catholic organizations across the state,” Compton said. “We are seeking court orders regarding the production of those materials in order to ensure full compliance with all applicable privacy laws. The AGO will take all necessary measures to ensure a thorough and independent investigation.”

Clohessy said the investigation should not rely on the voluntary cooperation of the bishops, because high-ranking church members in the past have been found covering up abuse.

“These are the same men that have hidden the crimes for decades and continue to do so,” he said. “The notion that they would fully and voluntarily turn over all of their records without being forced to runs counter to common sense and the history.”