MADISON (WI)
WJFW-TV, NBC-12 [Rhinelander WI]
September 4, 2025
By George Wiebe and Kimberly Wethal, Wisconsin State Journal
Patricia Moriarty, a victim of Rev. Andrew Showers who was sexually assault in him in Chicago in January 2024, speaks at the Wisconsin State Capitol alongside Nate’s Mission advocates to push for stronger accountability for Madison Diocese officials, including Bishop Donald Hying.
An abuse survivors group has accused Diocese of Madison Bishop Donald Hying of ignoring multiple complaints against a Catholic priest charged with trying to arrange sex with a 14-year-old online.
Andrew J. Showers, 37, was arrested in a sting operation on Aug. 24, and charged with attempted use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempted child enticement and attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child under 16.
The diocese had once said there had been no previous complaints against Showers. But in a statement on Aug. 25, Hying said a parent had raised concerns about the priest back in December 2021.
On Thursday, a former UW-Madison student said she had filed her own complaint with the diocese more than a year ago accusing Showers of sexual assault.
Patricia Moriarty said she and a group of friends were approached by Showers at a “public establishment” in Chicago in January 2024. Later that day, she said, Showers groped her underneath her clothes and spoke to her in a sexually inappropriate manner.
The Wisconsin State Journal does not normally identify victims of sexual assault, but Moriarty said she wanted to set an example for others.
“I made the decision to share my story in hopes that others will feel empowered and encouraged to speak their truth as well,” Moriarty said at a press conference outside the state Capitol.
After reporting the alleged assault to the diocese, Moriarty and her father were given forms to fill out but were refused direct contact with Hying, said Sarah Pearson, deputy director of Nate’s Mission, an abuse survivor activist organization.
“Bishop Hying failed to follow back,” Pearson said. “This information was available to them.”
No one at the diocese could be reached for comment Thursday.
Moriarty filed a report with the Chicago Police Department, which opened an investigation into the assault in early 2024, Pearson said.
While Showers’ case is the latest report of abuse by a clergy member to come out of Wisconsin, it is far from the only one, said Peter Isely, former Midwest director for Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
“We believe there’s other victims out there,” Isely said. “Right now, we are urging them to go to law enforcement, urging them to reach us, reach survivors, call the attorney general.”
The first report of Showers’ misconduct came from a parent who raised concerns over sexually explicit questions Showers allegedly asked a middle school-age boy during confession at St. Patrick Church in Lodi in December 2021.
In his statement last month, Hying said the parish pastor at the time told the parent to report his concerns to Lodi police, which the parent did.
“The police met with the father and child, assessed that the incident did not rise to the level of a criminal act, and so did not refer the matter further or pursue it with the diocese,” Hying wrote.
The incident was reported eight months after the state Department of Justice launched a statewide investigation into clergy abuse, which Isely said has received little compliance from dioceses and other religious orders in Wisconsin.
Isely and Pearson pushed for a stronger response from Attorney General Josh Kaul on Thursday, urging him to more aggressively pursue records from church officials and justice for victims. DOJ spokesperson Riley Vetterkind confirmed the department had learned of Moriarty’s alleged assault in April 2024 from the advocates.
Vetterkind said the department encourages victims to report incidents to the state’s Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Initiative, regardless of when the crime happened or whether law enforcement had been previously involved.
“When we receive reports from victims, those reports are reviewed by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of a victim specialist, criminal investigator, and a prosecutor,” Vetterkind said. “At times, we have provided information about abuse reports to faith organizations, but only when receiving consent from the victim. We also have ensured that law enforcement is notified as appropriate.”
Vetterkind declined further comment on the open Showers case.
Showers’ case shows the investigation has had little effect deterring clergy abuse, Isely said.
Showers is next due to appear in court Sept. 30.
Originally published on madison.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.