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Several Accused Priests Had Served in Eastern Jackson County

By Mike Genet
The Examiner
September 6, 2019

https://www.examiner.net/news/20190906/several-accused-priests-had-served-in-eastern-jackson-county

Twelve of the 19 priests on a new list of clerics who officials say have substantiated allegations of child sex abuse against them served churches in Eastern Jackson County at some point in their ministry.

The list, released Friday by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, included no current priests. With the exception of federal prison inmate Shawn Ratigan, all allegations are from before 1990. Thirteen of the 19 have died, two have been permanently removed from ministry, and four including Ratigan have been laicized, or removed from the clerical state.

The diocese also released the names of 11 clerics in other categories. Three had substantiated allegations while in the diocese but are now under the control of other dioceses, Two religious-order priests have been removed from ministry. Three former diocesan priests were found “unsuitable for ministry out of concern for the safety of our youth.” Three clergy are part of legal settlements but their cases have not been substantiated in court or by the church. One of the accused priests in another diocese and all three found unsuitable for ministry served in Eastern Jackson County.

Of the 12 accused priests who served in the area, four reportedly had allegations stemming from their local tenures, according to the website bishopaccountability.org – Francis McGlynn (St. Mary, Independence, 1970-74), Hugh Monahan (St. Robert Bellarmine, Blue Springs, 1983-87), Thomas O’Brien (Nativity of Mary, Independence, 1981-83) and Stephen Wise (Our Lady of Presentation, Lee’s Summit, 1981-85). Monahan and Wise have been laicized, and McGlynn and O’Brien died earlier in the decade. Also, Mark Honhart (Nativity, 1980-81) was serving in the Scranton, Pennsylvania Diocese when he was permanently removed from ministry. All had more than one allegation against them, according to the report.

 

 

 

 

 




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