KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star
August 30, 2018
By Judy L. Thomas
Catholic officials in Wyoming say they have received a third credible sex abuse allegation against a former Kansas City priest who went on to become bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Cheyenne diocese said the allegation was reported after the diocese announced in July that it had conducted an investigation and found “credible and substantiated” evidence that retired Bishop Joseph Hart had abused two Wyoming boys.
“Following this announcement, a third individual reported that he, too, was sexually abused by Bishop Hart in 1980,” the diocese said. “The diocese reported the allegation to the Cheyenne Police Department and is cooperating with their investigation.”
Hart, now 86, was a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph from 1956 to 1976, then served as bishop or auxiliary bishop of Cheyenne from 1976 to 2001. The latest allegation means a dozen abuse claims have been brought against Hart. Three have now been lodged in Wyoming, and the others have been made in the area covered by the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese.
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