LOUISVILLE (KY)
wave3.com
October 10 2017
By Connie Leonard
[See also the entry for Hemmerle in the database of accused U.S. priests on BishopAccountability.org.]
Louisville area priests convicted of molesting children in a court of law are still getting money and benefits from the Catholic Church.
What message is it sending?
Victims of priest abuse maintain that’s a question parishioners should be asking their Catholic church leaders, to make sure their children and others are protected.
Priests, like Father Joseph Hemmerle, may deny heinous acts against children. “I’m innocent of all these charges,” Hemmerle told a judge after being convicted by a Meade County jury.
Victims say that’s what makes them so dangerous.
“As far as I’m concerned, the guy is a huge threat to other children,” said Hemmerle molestation victim Michael Norris. Norris recently found out that because the crime occurred when he was 11, before 1980, the old rules apply and Hemmerle will be eligible for parole in 2018.
“I think it’s absurd,” Norris said. But he contends what’s more absurd is that even though Hemmerle is a twice convicted pedophile, the Archdiocese of Louisville hasn’t begun the process to remove him.
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