Two lawsuits accuse Missouri dioceses of ‘shameless cover-up’ of sex abuse

CNA Staff, September 20, 2024 / 11:43 AM

This month, two lawsuits were filed accusing the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau and the Diocese of Jefferson City, both in Missouri, of covering up and enabling decades of sexual abuse of minors dating from the 1960s through the 1990s.

The two lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court and containing identical language in many cases, allege that diocesan officials “knowingly enabled, covered up, and concealed the sexual abuse of minors for decades,” what the lawsuits call a “blatant cover-up” that “lasted for decades and enabled several bishops and other employees to gain access to and sexually abuse countless children.”

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of numerous anonymous individuals identified only by their initials. The alleged victims were nearly all minors at the time of the reported abuse; one plaintiff in the Jefferson City lawsuit was identified as a “vulnerable adult” at the time of the alleged abuse. The incidents reportedly occurred in multiple parishes and schools in the respective dioceses.

The Springfield-Cape Girardeau lawsuit alleges abuse by multiple priests, including Father Leonard Chambers, who is on the diocese’s clergy roster for allegations of abuse and misconduct.

The filing contains several errors, including spelling mistakes and an identification of the defendant as the “Diocese of St. Louis.” Rebecca Randles, a Kansas City, Missouri, attorney representing the plaintiffs in both lawsuits, said the legal team “was in a hurry to get this out the door because we wanted to file it within five years of the attorney general’s report,” which was released in 2019.

“The errors are typographical in nature and do not affect the legitimacy of the lawsuit,” she said.

The five-year term, meanwhile, was “symbolically important – especially since some of the priests on the list are not named in the diocese’s list of credibly accused,” she said.

Then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt released a report in September 2019 on his investigation into sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy in the state. The district attorney referred 12 former clergy members for possible criminal prosecution at the time.

The investigation ultimately yielded credible allegations of 163 cases of sexual abuse or misconduct by diocesan clergy against minors. The violations ranged from transgressions — such as inappropriate discussion or correspondence — to rape.

“The individuals named in that report have still not been prosecuted,” Randles told CNA.

In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau said it “takes these allegations seriously.”

“These new claims will be investigated and the diocese will continue to care for those harmed by abuse as outlined in the U.S. Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and our own policies and procedures for a safe environment,” the statement said.

“As a precautionary measure, all clergy, employees and volunteers accused of abuse or misconduct involving minors or vulnerable adults may be placed on temporary administrative leave by the diocese,” the diocese continued. “The presumption of innocence, which is also enshrined in the charter, must be accorded to those currently accused.”

“The Diocese is committed to truth and justice and to holding accountable those who abused children and the vulnerable,” the statement added.

The lawsuit in Jefferson City, which at one point also appears to identify the diocese as “St. Louis,” meanwhile makes similar claims, naming multiple priests who allegedly abused children, including at least two priests on the diocese’s list of credibly accused priests.

In a statement Thursday, Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City said the diocese “is treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and is investigating the allegations.”

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The bishop noted that “none of the five priests named in the lawsuit are currently active in ministry in the Diocese of Jefferson City.”

Another, Father Francis Gillgannon, died in 2004, the bishop said. “We were not aware of any allegations against him prior to this trial,” he said.

One priest in the lawsuit is identified only as “Father Darr.” McKnight said in his statement that there is “no evidence of a ‘Father Darr’ ever serving in the Diocese of Jefferson City.”

The bishop said officials were continuing to work to determine the identity of a priest identified in the lawsuit only as “Father Dave.” “We have confirmed that this allegation does not refer to a priest named ‘David’ currently serving in our diocese,” he said.

“I invite everyone to continue to pray for all survivors of abuse and misconduct,” the bishop said. “We also encourage anyone who has been abused to come forward.”