KANSAS CITY (KS)
Kansas City Star [Kansas City MO]
October 20, 2026
By Judy L Thomas
A northeast Kansas woman is suing a Catholic priest, two dioceses and a parish, alleging that the priest subjected her to months of sexual misconduct after she sought his spiritual guidance.
The lawsuit, filed in Wyandotte County District Court, accuses the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, the Catholic Diocese of Salina and Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Manhattan of failing to adequately supervise the Rev. Ryan Anthony McCandless and allowing him to remain in a position of authority after the woman reported his conduct.
McCandless, 44, was under the authority of the Diocese of Salina, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Seven Dolors Parish, the lawsuit says.
He also faces criminal charges in a separate case.
McCandless was arrested by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in July and charged with three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a 6-year-old child in Belleville. According to the charges, the offenses allegedly occurred between July and September 2025. McCandless remained in custody Tuesday in the Republic County Jail in Belleville, online jail records showed.
Comments from Kansas church authorities
The plaintiff in the civil suit filed last month is referred to as Jane Doe and is a resident of Pottawatomie County, Kansas, the lawsuit says. She is demanding a jury trial and seeking more than $75,000 damages for each of the petition’s four counts.
The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said in an email to The Star that McCandless “has never served in any capacity for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.”
“Because this involves pending litigation, the Archdiocese will not comment further.”
Bill Meagher, a spokesman for the Diocese of Salina, declined to comment.
“Out of respect for the ongoing legal proceedings, the Diocese cannot comment publicly on the matter while it is before the courts,” he said in an email to The Star.
Alleged abuse of child in Belleville
The Wendt Law Firm, which is representing the plaintiff, said in a statement that the chronology is a central part of the case.
“Our client reported McCandless’s 2024 misconduct to church officials,” the statement said. “The abuse of a child in Belleville is alleged to have occurred the following summer, from July through September 2025 — after that warning had already been given.
“We will not speak for the child or that family, and McCandless is entitled to the presumption of innocence in the criminal matter. But the sequence raises an unavoidable question that the evidence in our client’s case will likely answer.”
When an institution receives a credible report that a clergy member has engaged in sexual misconduct, the statement said, “it has a responsibility to act — to investigate, to restrict, and to protect those who may be exposed to further harm.”
“Where a warning is received and no meaningful action follows, foreseeable harm becomes preventable harm,” it said. “Whether that is what happened here is precisely what the evidence in this litigation will establish. We intend to pursue that evidence fully.”
Where the Rev. McCandless served
The Salina diocese issued a statement when McCandless was charged in July, saying he had been immediately removed from all public priestly ministry when church officials learned of the allegation. Those restrictions will remain in place, the diocese said, “unless and until he is fully cleared of the allegations by all the appropriate civil, legal, and ecclesiastical authorities.”
At the time of his removal, McCandless was serving as pastor of St. Edward Parish in Belleville, St. George Parish in Munden and St. Isidor Parish in Cuba, the Salina diocese said. He had previously served in Hays, Manhattan, Concordia, Mankato and Esbon, it said. The Manhattan assignments included Manhattan Catholic Schools and St. Isidore Catholic Student Center.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit was a parishioner at Seven Dolors in Manhattan and later worked for that parish and the Diocese of Salina, her lawsuit says.
Around November 2021, it alleges, she began meeting privately with McCandless while seeking spiritual guidance from him.
Those interactions became “increasingly inappropriate and abusive,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Beginning on or about March 2024 and continuing through on or about October 2024, Defendant McCandless engaged in a course of conduct directed at Plaintiff that included unwelcome sexual advances, sexual harassment, sexual comments and communications, coercion and pressure to engage in sexual activity, and unwelcome and non-consensual sexual contact,” the suit says.
The alleged conduct occurred in Manhattan, Salina and Westmoreland, a community in Pottawatomie County, the lawsuit alleges. The plaintiff says she did not consent to the sexual contact and repeatedly told McCandless that it was unwanted.
‘Pattern of concealment and inaction’
She reported McCandless’ conduct to employees, agents or supervisors of the Diocese of Salina, the KCK Archdiocese and Seven Dolors Parish, according to the lawsuit. Those organizations, the lawsuit alleges, responded with a “pattern of concealment and inaction.”
The Salina diocese effectively ratified McCandless’ conduct, the lawsuit says, by allowing him to retain a position of power and authority within the church and among parishioners and employees.
The plaintiff suffered “serious and permanent physical and psychological injuries” from the abuse, the lawsuit alleges.
“This was not an isolated remark or a misunderstanding,” the plaintiff’s law firm said in its statement. “It was a sustained course of conduct by a member of the clergy who exploited the spiritual authority and trust that his position conferred, directed at a person who came to him in that very context. Conduct of that nature, by someone in that role, is among the most serious betrayals a faith community can confront.”
Jane Doe has shown “considerable courage,” her lawyers said, adding that the toll she has endured “has been compounded by the institutional response she encountered.”
“She continues to deal with the consequences of what was done to her along with the difficulty of pursuing accountability through the legal system,” the statement said. “She did not ask to become a public figure. She came forward to seek accountability and hoping to protect others from potential harm.”