SPRINGFIELD (MO)
Springfield News-Leader
August 23, 2018
By Will Schmitt
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau plans to launch an independent inquiry going back more than five decades in the wake of reported abuse by priests elsewhere in the U.S.
Leslie Eidson, director of communications for the Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese, said the inquiry was being launched at the direction of Bishop Edward Rice, whom Pope Francis picked to lead local Catholics in April 2016.
A formal canonical decree asking for the independent examination of all personnel files as well as an open letter from Rice to congregants to be read at all Masses this weekend were in the works, Eidson said.
In the letter, Rice says the Springfield diocese is aware of nine inactive priests who have faced previously reported credible allegations of abusing a minor. He also says a pastor was recently placed on administrative leave for “sexual misconduct over the Internet” and says that the diocese is investing a recently reported lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by a former Springfield diocese employee.
Earlier Thursday, Archbishop Robert Carlson of the St. Louis diocese announced he was cooperating with Attorney General Josh Hawley’s office in a voluntary review of clergy abuse.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.