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	Information on Priest Wasn't Given to Review Board By Nicholas J.C. Pistor St. Louis Post-Dispatch August 23, 2008 http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/87B8FEBB61E3832F862574AE000AECBC?OpenDocument BELLEVILLE — Margaret Mensen said she was supposed to investigate allegations of misconduct by priests for the Belleville Diocese and interview victims. But she couldn't investigate them all, she said, because she didn't know some existed. Mensen, the former administrator for a civilian review board investigating priestly misconduct, told a St. Clair County jury on Friday that a file containing complaints against Rev. Raymond Kownacki didn't include information about numerous people who claimed abuse. The file was given to her by former Belleville Bishop Wilton Gregory, she said. Mensen said she only got information about two possible victims — even though diocesan documents displayed in court show there were many others. Complaints of sexual abuse against Kownacki dated to the late 1960s, the diocesan documents indicate, and reach from Central America to nearly every corner of Southern Illinois. It took more than 20 years for the priest to be removed from active ministry, according to the internal memos that were displayed before a St. Clair County jury. Mensen also said she wasn't allowed to make copies of documents in the one file she was given — that of Kownacki. Mensen could only take notes — with a witness present. Gregory, now the archbishop of Atlanta, is frequently mentioned in media reports as a candidate under consideration to replace the archbishop of New York. He was widely praised for his openness involving church abuse. A former altar boy is suing the diocese for allegedly covering up his sexual abuse. The trial began Monday. Defense attorneys have said they may call Gregory to testify. The abuse allegedly occurred after another incident cited by Mensen. She testified she found "sincere and credible" information in the file and by conducting interviews that Kownacki raped a 16-year-old girl in the 1970s — the girl later became pregnant — and attempted to abort the fetus by squeezing her uterus. The fetus died, she said. According to court documents, the girl's father was told by the diocese to complain directly to Kownacki. "He (Kownacki) laughed in his face," Mensen said, describing her investigation of the incident. Contact: npistor@post-dispatch.com | 618-624-2577.
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