KANSAS CITY (MO)
Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
April 5, 2020
Bishop Johnston and diocesan leaders recognize how difficult it can be for a survivor of clergy sexual abuse to come forward and appreciate the great courage it takes in making a report to the Church.
The diocese has received and deemed credible an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by deceased Father Peter Clement Vatter. This allegation was deemed credible following the diocesan Policy for Response to Allegations, by the Ombudsman, Independent Review Board and Bishop Johnston. The abuse occurred in the late 1940’s when Vatter was assigned as Pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish, Moberly, Missouri. In 1955, the parish was renamed St. Pius X Parish.
Fr. Vatter’s name has been added to the diocese’s List of Diocesan Clergy With Substantiated Abuse Allegations, which can be found on the diocesan website here.
Fr. Vatter was born April 16, 1889 and ordained for the Diocese of St. Joseph on June 13, 1916. In 1956, the dioceses of St. Joseph and Kansas City merged, and new boundaries were created to allow for the establishment of the Diocese of Jefferson City. At the time of the abuse, Immaculate Conception Parish in Moberly was a part of the Diocese of St. Joseph. Immaculate Conception Parish – now St. Pius X Parish has been within the boundaries of the Diocese of Jefferson City since 1956.
Fr. Vatter’s parish assignments included: Assistant pastor at St. Columban Parish, Chillicothe; assistant pastor at St. Boniface Parish, Brunswick; and Pastor, Immaculate Conception, Moberly prior to his death, November 29, 1950.
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