MISSOURI
The Kansas City Star
By KEVIN MURPHY
The Kansas City Star
Two men have sued the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, contending they were sexually abused in the 1950s by the Rev. Sylvester Hoppe, who died in 2002.
Gary Lee Smith of Topeka and Hank Talbot, who lives in northwest Missouri, filed lawsuits late last week in Jackson County Circuit Court. The lawsuits said the diocese “ignored, covered up and concealed” Hoppe’s behavior.
In a written statement released Monday afternoon, the Rev. Robert A. Murphy, vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, said the diocese had no record of complaints from Smith or Talbot.
Still, he expressed regret for the harm done by a few priests. “The diocese is deeply sorry for what has happened to innocent children due to the abuse perpetrated by some priests,” Murphy’s statement said.