They ‘out’ 2 new priests accused of abuse

The clerics are not on the archdiocesan list

But other church officials say their accusers are "credible"

So group launches eastern Kansas ‘outreach drive’ to find more victims

WHAT

Holding signs and childhood photos at a sidewalk news conference, clergy sex abuse victims and their supporters will

--ask the KS archdiocese why these two clerics are not on its list,

--reveal the names of two publicly accused priests who are/were in Lawence but have received virtually no attention here, and

--beg those with information or suspicions about abuse to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation

They will also hand out fliers door-to-door near churches listing several other accused priests who work/live or worked/lived in Lawrence.



WHEN

Tuesday, August 20 at 10:45 a.m.



WHERE

Outside St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1234 Kentucky St. (corner of E. 13th) in Lawrence (785 843 0109), where a priest accused of exploiting a vulnerable adult worked



WHO

Two-three members of a support group called SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAPnetwork.org), including a St. Louis man who was the organization’s former long time executive director (and whose brother is a predator priest)



WHY

--1) SNAP is launching a grassroots ‘outreach drive’ to inform and warn “parents, parishioners, police, prosecutors and the public” about “publicly accused child molesting clerics” who live/lived or work/worked in eastern Kansas. The group is especially focusing on those clerics who are NOT on the KC KS list of priests with "substantiated allegations" against them.



SNAP’s goal is to “protect kids by alerting people to possible perpetrators, help law enforcement pursue possible criminal charges, and find and help those in pain because of abuse.”



The group is wants Bishop Naumann “to do outreach to abuse victims, witnesses and whistle-blowers, urging them to contact law enforcement, using church bulletins, parish websites and pulpit announcements as a simple step toward prevention and healing.





---2) Bishops have been posting lists of accused child molesting clerics on church websites for 17 years. The Archdiocese of Kansas City, KS was not among them until this year, when it named 22 clerics. https://responseincrisis.archkck.org/list-substantiated-allegations/



But SNAP says the list is inadequate and inaccurate.



“Every single day the name of an accused cleric is hidden kids are at risk,” the group maintains.



So over the past few months, SNAP has disclosed the names of 13 more publicly accused child molesting clerics who spent time in the KC KS archdiocese but who have escaped any or much attention locally and are NOT on the archdiocesan list.



Today, SNAP is also disclosing the names of two more publicly accused abusers who were in Lawrence. Both were deemed ‘credibly accused' by the Catholic officials who directly supervised them. They are:



--Fr. Gregory Beyer, who died in 2010, abused in the 1970s, was in Lawrence, and was included in a list of “credibly accused” abusive clerics put out in March by his direct superiors, the Denver-based Capuchin Catholic religious order (303 477 5436, contact@capuchins). https://bit.ly/31JBlnE

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news555/2010_12_15_Hays_Daily_News_Beyer_Obituary.pdf

Between 1983 and 2001, he worked as pastor or assistant pastor of parishes in the Kansas towns of St. Francis, Bird City, Gorham, Walker, Victoria, Vincent, Pfeifer, Hays, Antonino and Schoenchen.

He also worked in three Colorado cities (Northglenn, Solanus Casey Friary in Colorado Springs and Annunciation Friary in Denver) and in several Kansas towns: Hays (St. Bonaventure Friary), Atwood (Sacred Heart Friary), Victoria (St. Fidelis Friary), St. Francis, Bird City, Gorham, Walker, Vincent, Pfeifer, Antonino and Schoenchen.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news555/2010_12_15_Hays_Daily_News_Beyer_Obituary.pdf



--Fr. Benignus Scarry, who was born in 1944, reportedly molested in the 1980s, left ministry in 2016 and was also first ‘outed’ as a 'credibly accused' child abuser earlier this year by the Capuchins.

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2019/03_04/2019_03_28_Phillips_13Denverbased.htm

He worked at Catholic institutions in Missouri (St. Louis), Colorado (Denver and Colorado Springs) and Kansas (Hays and Lawrence).

Both men were at St. Conrad’s Friary in Lawrence.



Bishop Naumann should add these names to the archdiocesan list, SNAP says. In addition, the bishop should include the photos, whereabouts and full work histories of ALL reported offender clerics, SNAP argues. “That’s the best way to help protect kids and heal victims.”



3) In February 2019, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation launched a probe into all four Kansas dioceses and how they deal with abuse. (To report information: 1-800-872-7463, ClergyAbuse@kbi.ks.gov)

http://www.complicitclergy.com/2019/07/23/kansas-bureau-of-investigation-launches-clergy-abuse-investigations-in-33-counties/



In July, the KBI disclosed that it has opened 74 current investigations and received calls from 119 victims.



https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article233015562.html



SNAP applauds the KBI’s work. It wants Bishop Naumann to urge his flock to “report any information or suspicions about clergy sex crimes or cover ups” directly to the agency.



“It’s not enough to comply with subpoenas,” SNAP says. “If the bishop and his staff want to restore faith in their institution, they must reverse course and vigorously push parishioners to share what they know or suspect about molesters with the KBI.”



BACKGROUND

The Kansas City KS archdiocese can be reached at 913 721 1570, archkck@archkck.org



The other KC KS archdiocesan clerics who are missing from Kansas City's list but who were ‘outed’ in recent months by SNAP are: Fr. Gilbert Stack, Fr. Placidus Kieffer, Fr. Thomas S. McShane, Fr. Philip D. Kraus, Fr. Anthony D. Palmese, Fr. Roger A. Sinclair, Fr. Eugene A. Maio, Fr. John C. (Fidelis) Forrester, Fr. Norman J. Rogge, Fr. Francis W. Callan, Fr. John A. Coughlin, Fr. Richard J. Pauson and Fr. Patrick J. Conway. (The last four are Jesuits.) https://bit.ly/2FZ1Izg



The priest accused of sexually exploiting a vulnerable adult at St. John the Evangelist is Fr. Paul Hosler. https://bit.ly/2YYXgu7



Two Kansas Catholic dioceses (Kansas City KS and Salina) have produced lists of abusers while two others (Wichita & Dodge City) have not.