ST. LOUIS (MO)
Post-Dispatch
By Tim Townsend
Of the Post-Dispatch
Wednesday, Jan. 19 2005
Twelve new victims have alleged abuse by an admitted pedophile priest who lives near two schools in University City.
A spokesman for St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke says the archdiocese has been working hard for months to have the Rev. William Wiebler sent back to Davenport, Iowa, and that now those efforts will increase.
The Post-Dispatch reported in September that Wiebler had left a treatment
center in Jefferson County and was living in an apartment 750 feet from an
elementary school and about 1,500 feet from a preschool. At the time, both the
Diocese of Davenport and the Archdiocese of St. Louis said they couldn't do
anything about where Wiebler was living.
"Short of calling in the Swiss Guard, the archbishop over several months, has
done everything in his power to get this guy out of town and back to his home
diocese," said Jamie Allman. Church, or canon, law says that Burke has no
authority over Wiebler, and that only Bishop William E. Franklin of Davenport
can take action against him. "With 12 new allegations, the burner will be
turned up," Allman said.