Rev. Leonard R. Chambers

Rev. Leonard R. Chambers – Assignment History

Summary of Case: Leonard R. Chambers was ordained in 1965 for the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. He was assigned to more than twenty parishes during his career, assisting and serving as administrator early on, then assigned as pastor for the first time in 1974. Chambers held a number of diocesan positions, serving as president or chair of several.

In August 1982 Bishop Bernard Law placed Chambers on leave after the parents of a teenage boy complained that the priest had molested their son. Chambers admitted to the abuse. He spent ten months at the Servants of the Paraclete's treatment facility in Jemez Springs, NM, after which he was returned to ministry. In the mid-1990s Springfield-Cape Girardeau bishop Leibrecht placed restrictions on Chambers, prohibiting him from being alone with minors. When Chambers was found alone with a minor in 1998, Leibrecht forced him to retire. Chambers is not indexed in the Official Catholic Directory after 2002. He is last known to have been living in Joplin, MO.

Ordained: 1965

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Allegations	State	Position	Notes
1965 Diocese of Springfield- Cape Girardeau Bishop was Ignatius Jerome Strecker (1962-1969).	1966	St. Mary's	Pierce City	MO	2/2	St. Mary's had a school with 286 students.
1965	1966	St. Michael's	Wentworth	MO		This was a mission of St. Mary's in Pierce City.
		Sacred Heart	Webb City	MO	temporary administrator	This assignment is per news reports.
1966	1968	St. Peter's	Joplin	MO	2/2	St. Peter's had a school with 178-168 students.
1968	1969	Cathedral of St. Mary	Cape Girardeau	MO	2/2	The Cathedral had a school with 335 students.
October 1969		St. Joseph the Worker	Ozark	MO	administrator	This assignment is per news reports.
1969 Strecker was succeeded by William Wakefield Baum (1970-1973).	1973	Holy Trinity	Springfield	MO	3/3, 2/4, 2/3
1973 Bernard Francis Law replaced Baum as Springfield-Cape Girardeau bishop (1973-1984).	1974	St. Joseph's	Advance	MO	1/1 administrator
1973	1974	St. Anthony's	Glennon	MO		This was a mission of St. Joseph's in Advance.
1974	1975	St. Susanne's	Mt. Vernon	MO	1/2 pastor
1974	1975	St. Patrick's	Greenfield	MO	administrator	This was a mission of St. Susanne's in Mt. Vernon.
1974 1983	1982 1987	National Shrines and Churches	Springfield-Cape Girardeau	MO
1975	1981	St. Francis de Sales	Lebanon	MO	1/1	St. Francis de Sales had a school until 1976 with 60 students.
1975	1982	Diocesan Liturgical Committee	Springfield-Cape Girardeau	MO	Chair 1979-1981
1978	1982	Diocesan Pro-Life	Springfield-Cape Girardeau	MO	President 1979-1981
1978	1981	Senate of Priests	Springfield-Cape Girardeau	MO
1981 1992	1982 1998	Diocesan Pastoral Council	Springfield-Cape Girardeau	MO	Executive Secretary
July 1981	August 1982	St. Elizabeth Ann Seton	Springfield • Chambers was accused of molesting a teenage boy in 1981 at St. Elizabeth's. Chambers admitted to the abuse.	MO	1/1	The boy's parents reported the abuse to then - Bishop Law, who suspended Chambers and sent him to treatment for ten months at the Servants of the Paraclete's facility in Jemez Springs, NM.
August 1982	1983	On Leave
1983	1984	Sacred Heart	Salem	MO	1/1
1983	1984	Christ the King	Bunker	MO		This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Salem.
1983	1984	St. Jude Chapel	Montauk	MO
1984 John Joseph Leibrecht succeeded Law (1984-2008).	August 1985	St. Mary's	Pierce City	MO	1/1 administrator, pastor	St. Mary's had a school with 116 students.
August 1985	1996	Our Lady of the Cove	Kimberling	MO	1/1, 1/2	Our Lady of the Cove had a CCD program 1994-1996 with 119-109 students. Bishop Leibrecht placed restrictions on Chambers in the mid-1990s, prohibiting him from being alone with minors.
August 1985		Holy Family	Shell Knob	MO
1990	1998	Priests' Mutual Benefit Society	Springfield-Cape Girardeau		Vice-President 1993-1997, President 1997-1998
1995	1998	Diocesan Development Fund	Springfield-Cape Girardeau	MO
1996	1998	St. Peter's	Joplin • In 1998 Chambers was found alone with a minor, which violated the restrictions he was under. He was removed from active ministry and given retirement status.	MO	1/1	St. Peter's had a school with 99 students, and a CCD program with 93 students.
1998	1999					Chambers is not indexed in the 1999 Directory, nor is he listed in the Diocesan pages as at his previous assignment.
1999	2002	Retired				Chambers is not indexed beyond the 2002 Directory. He is last known to have been living in Joplin.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1966-2002).

• Leonard Chambers, By Stephen Kurkijian, Boston Globe, March 18, 2002
• No Current Local Child Abuse Cases, Diocese Says, Springfield News Leader, March 18, 2002
• Diocese Identifies Two Other Priests Accused of Abusing Minor, By Connie Farrow, Assoicated Press State & Local Wire, March 19, 2002
• Second Priest in Letter Named, By Linda Leicht, Springfield News Leader, March 19 2002
• Two More Priests Accused, Batesville Daily Guard, March 20, 2002
• Diocese Announces Sweeping Changes in Sex-Abuse Policies, Springfield News Leader, March 20, 2002
• Deposition of Cardinal Bernard Law, Suffolk County Superior Court, June 5, 2002
• Bishop John Leibrecht, Dallas Morning News, June 12, 2002
• Bishop Leibrecht - Addresses Sexual Abuse to Diocese, The Mirror, March 22, 2003
• 'Credible' Abuse Accusation Brought against Dead Priest, By Linda Leicht, Springfield News Leader, January 1, 2008
• New Allegation of Abuse Surfaces against Deceased Former Priest, Joplin Globe, May 1, 2017

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Chambers's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on June 16, 2017.