188 Clergy, including of the SSPX, are Suspected of Abuse in 50 Year Report from Kansas Released by the Government - Diocese Responds

A report released by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and released by the Government of Kansas' Attorney General, indicates that 188 Catholic clergy members are suspected of child sexual abuse. No charges have been made since the release of the report on January 6th. There are over 400 victims; however, some are unable to press charges since many cases have passed the statute of limitations. The report found all four dioceses in Kansas not only had clergy members who abused children between 1950 and the 2000's, but also reportedly helped cover up the abuse. The Catholic dioceses of Kansas are the Archdiocese of Kansas City, the Diocese of Salina, the Diocese of Wichita, and the Diocese of Dodge City. The report also includes clergy from the traditional sect, founded in 1970, that is not governed by any diocese; the Society of Saint Pius X. 

“The trauma experienced by the victims is clear from the KBI report,” said Archbishop Joseph Naumann, leader of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. “You cannot read this report without your heart breaking.”

SEE the Report: https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/20230106-kbi-clergy-report.pdf

The Catholic Diocese of Wichita, Kansas released the following on their new website:

Dioceses worked with KBI on Clergy Investigation

Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Attorney General, Derek Schmidt has released a report following its investigation of alleged clergy abuse within the four Catholic Dioceses of Kansas, including the Diocese of Wichita. As the community processes the findings in this report, Bishop Carl A. Kemme and the Bishops across the state of Kansas offer their deepest apologies to the victims, their families, the faithful of the church, and our Kansas Catholic Community at large.

The Catholic Dioceses in Kansas including the Archdiocese of Kansas City and Dioceses of Dodge City, Salina, and Wichita cooperated with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation because we are committed to and fully support the mandates outlined in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which was established in June 2002.

The Catholic Diocese of Wichita with the direction of Bishop Carl A. Kemme have continued to reinforce transparency amongst clergy and urge any victims of abuse to report it to proper authorities. The hope of such efforts is not to relive the pain but to stop abuse altogether. Although the past cannot be changed, the Diocese of Wichita remains dedicated to keeping our children safe from abuse moving forward.

https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/dioceses-worked-with-kbi-on-clergy-investigation/

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The investigation revealed the following: 

1. Some victims were reluctant to provide information because they had reviously signed a non-disclosure agreement with the church associated with a civil suit. 

2. In many cases the victims, or the priests, were deceased. 

3. Church officials frequently used language or terms that minimized the seriousness or severity of actions and abuse by Church clergy. 

4. Church officials occasionally failed to report incidents to law enforcement or child protection ser ices. 

5. Church officials frequently failed to provide transparent communication to parishioners.

 6. Inadequacies within the Catholic dioceses recordkeeping policies and systems resulted in the intentional or accidental deletion of records documenting or relating to allegations of sexual abuse. Diocesan records documenting or relating to the allegations of sexual abuse were disorganized and scattered. 

7. Most of the investigations conducted by the dioceses into past allegations of sexual abuse were inconsistent and inadequate. 

8. Each of the dioceses frequently failed to follow its own policies and procedures relating to allegations of sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy. 

9. Church officials frequently attempted to avoid scandal and failed to hold offenders accountable; including transferring offending priests to new parishes, continuing to financially support offending priests, failing to remove offending priests from their status as priests, and failing to monitor priests of concern.

Source: https://ag.ks.gov/docs/default-source/documents/20230106-kbi-clergy-report.pdf