LEAWOOD (KS)
Kansas City Star [Kansas City MO]
September 19, 2025
By Judy L. Thomas
The Rev. Richard Storey didn’t take a direct route on his path to the priesthood.
He made a long stop at a Louisburg funeral home along the way, working his way up from performing odd jobs to taking over as director before deciding to enter the priesthood.
Ordained in 2004 at 33, Storey has served since 2015 as pastor at Cure of Ars Catholic Church, 9401 Mission Road in Leawood. He was assigned to Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Overland Park from 2009 to 2015, and in his early years as a priest was at three churches in Osage County.
On Wednesday, parishioners were stunned when the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas announced that Storey had resigned amid a criminal investigation by Prairie Village police.
Storey informed the archdiocese that day of his decision to resign, the archdiocese said in a statement posted on its website, adding that it was “devastated by this situation.”
“The Prairie Village Police Department has informed the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas of a criminal investigation involving Father Storey concerning another adult,” the statement said. “The Archdiocese is fully cooperating with authorities so they can investigate the serious allegations being made against Father Storey.”
The Prairie Village Police Department issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon saying it was conducting “a criminal investigation into an allegation reported to have occurred in Prairie Village.”
“The investigation involves an adult victim and a pastor of Cure of Ars Parish in Leawood,” it said. “ … This is an ongoing investigation, and anyone with information related to this allegation or any other is urged to contact the Prairie Village Police Department at 913-642-6868 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.”
Archbishop Shawn McKnight has launched a preliminary canonical investigation into the issue as well, the archdiocese said, and Storey has been temporarily suspended from priestly ministry, including celebrating Mass and performing pastoral duties.
The archdiocese’s statement was posted on the Cure of Ars website Wednesday, and Storey’s contact information was removed from the “Meet the Priests and Religious” section of the site.
The archdiocese’s vicar general, the Rev. John Riley, has been appointed as the parish’s temporary administrator, the archdiocese said. No additional information on the issue will be provided during the investigation, it said.
Known as ‘Father Short Story’
Storey, a popular priest in the archdiocese, celebrated Mass last month at the annual Kansas City Irish Fest. He is known among parishioners as “Father Short Story” because his homilies are brief and to the point.
His resignation comes as the Cure of Ars Parish is in the midst of a $12 million capital campaign. As of Thursday, its website says it has raised $5.8 million from 577 families.
Storey was featured in a video on the parish website on Monday, asking parishioners to contribute.
“It’s time that we get ready for the next generation,” he said. “Thank you for all who have given, and if you haven’t given, please consider to do so … All are asked to give something. I need your help. God needs your help. Jesus Christ has entrusted this parish to us. Let’s get it done. God bless you all. Happy Monday.”
Before becoming a priest, Storey was a funeral director, according to a Nov. 25, 2016, article in The Leaven, the archdiocese’s newspaper.
Storey told The Leaven that through his experience of dealing with death, he had learned to view it as a journey to joy.
“Death has never scared me,” he said. “It is an embraceable friend.” He added that “the hope and the truth and the promise that a Catholic funeral Mass brings is incomparable.”
Storey saw funerals as an opportunity for evangelization, The Leaven article said. He encouraged people to attend funerals, it said, and created calling trees at his parishes to inform people about services. Those who feared nobody would show, it said, would often find a church full of supporters.
In October 2017, Storey was contacted by a funeral home to ask if he would celebrate the funeral Mass of an 80-year-old Air Force veteran who had died. Storey didn’t know the man but agreed to do the service, a Nov. 10, 2017, article in The Leaven recounted. The man’s neighbor told Storey that they didn’t expect anyone to turn out, so they planned to take the man’s ashes to the National Cemetery in Leavenworth and celebrate Mass after the burial.
But Storey asked parishioners at every Mass to attend, and more than 1,000 showed up, including all the students at Cure of Ars School, the article said.
Former funeral director in Louisburg
Storey grew up in a large extended family, the 2016 Leaven article said, and began working at the funeral home in Louisburg when he was a young man. He later attended mortuary school in Kansas City, Kansas, it said, then took over as funeral director.
He told The Leaven that one day when he was attending a Baptist funeral in a small Missouri town, he realized God was calling him to the priesthood.
Those in attendance, he said, were told that the man had never accepted Christ as his personal savior and asked, “Do we want to be like that?”
That attitude, Storey told The Leaven, offered no hope and didn’t match his experience as a Catholic. He said he walked out of the service.
“And exactly at that point — it was as good as the lights coming on in a dark room — [I felt God saying,] ‘I’m calling you!’” The Leaven quoted him as saying.
After being ordained on May 29, 2004, The Leaven article said, Storey’s first assignment was to the three parishes in Osage County.
In addition to those churches, Storey spent much of his time visiting hospitals in Topeka, Emporia, Ottawa and Olathe as well as area nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
“What was amazing to me,” Storey said, “was everything I learned in the funeral industry was the best lesson in how to be a good pastor.”