ST. LOUIS (MO)
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests
Oct. 24, 2019
Catholic officials are keeping kids at risk by dragging their feet with a bishop who has multiple “substantiated” allegations of child sexual abuse.
Bishop Joseph Hart is accused of molesting at least ten Missouri boys, and he has allegations from at least six boys in Wyoming. Yet bishops in Kansas City, Cheyenne and Rome are moving at a snail’s pace to protect the vulnerable and heal the wounded.
Kansas City church officials are reportedly putting any diocesan effort “on hold until the process in Rome finishes.” But no matter what happens in Rome, cases have already been settled against Bishop Hart here, and the last diocese he worked in has publicly named him among those clergy with “substantiated” allegations of abuse. Given this, there is nothing preventing Bishop James Vann Johnston, Jr. from warning parents, parishioners, prosecutors, and police about Bishop Hart, using pulpit announcements, church bulletins and parish websites. In fact, we believe it is the bishop’s civic and moral duty to do this, immediately and aggressively.
In Kansas City, there are no doubt still some adults who may trust their kids around Bishop Hart, and we are confident that there are still victims who are suffering because of his abuse.
We believe Wyoming Bishop Steven Biegler took more steps to warn police and the public about Bishop Hart than his predecessors did. But there is so much more he could and should do to safeguard children and help victims now.
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