MISSOURI
Riverfront Times
Posted By Danny Wicentowski on Thu, Oct 6, 2016
An elderly priest was set to be honored by St. Louis’ Catholic seminary during an alumni event yesterday — despite the fact that the priest has been accused of sexually abusing several adult women. It was only the advocacy of his victims that led to the seminary removing the priest’s name.
Initially, the schedule posted online for the alumni event at the Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury included a list of jubilarians, or priests celebrating their 50th anniversary since ordination. One of the priests listed was Fr. George A. Seuferling, who was ordained with the class of 1956.
However, Seuferling is currently in the process of being defrocked. He was first suspended from public ministry in 2011, and three years later the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas announced that it had further restricted Seuferling’s practice of ministry after receiving “two credible allegations of inappropriate conduct.” Seuferling, who retired in 2001, was limited to performing weddings and funerals for family members.
In February 2016, the Archdiocese issued a second announcement about Seuferling. Noting that his suspension was connected to “conduct inconsistent with priestly celibacy,” the Archdiocese stated that it had since received other substantiated allegations of misconduct and was petitioning the Holy See to officially remove Seuferling from the priesthood. The process of defrocking, or laicization, can take years.
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