BishopAccountability.org
	Suit Alleges Priest Fathered Child with Man’s Wife By Judy L. Thomas Kansas City Star September 26, 2011 http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/26/3168444/suit-alleges-priest-fathered-child.html A Missouri man filed a lawsuit today alleging that a priest in the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese — who for years has sat on the diocese’s Marriage Tribunal — fathered a child with the man’s wife. The civil lawsuit, filed in Cass County Circuit Court, alleges that the Rev. Joseph Matt had an affair with the man’s wife in 2004 and 2005 and that the woman became pregnant and had a son. It also alleges that the diocese committed fraud by keeping silent about the sexual misconduct. “It’s been a nightmare,” the man said in an interview with The Kansas City Star. “It’s not a good thing to find out that your son is not yours and the father is actually a priest that you thought you could trust. I still can’t believe it.” The man, who is filing the lawsuit anonymously to protect the identity of the child, learned last September that the boy was not his biological son, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit names Matt and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as defendants. The plaintiff, who filed the suit along with his three children, is seeking unspecified damages. Matt, who is assigned to St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Independence, did not respond to requests for comment. The diocese said in a statement that the woman’s husband had reported the issue to diocesan officials in September 2010. “At that time, Father Matt acknowledged the relationship and the results of a recent paternity test,” the diocese said. “In October 2010, Bishop Finn removed Father Matt from his ministerial assignment at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Independence. A public statement to the parish community acknowledged the suspension as a consequence of the affair.” The diocese said that Bishop Finn met with the woman’s husband in November “to apologize to him and to offer to pay for counseling for all members of the family, which the individual accepted.” “The diocese has never denied the affair and, in fact, has provided media with the same statement it made to parishioners. The diocese did not furnish names or further details in this statement so as to safeguard the privacy of the child and the family.” The diocese said that in February, “Bishop Finn came to an agreement with Father Matt about expectations for his return to ministry at St. Joseph the Worker, where he continues to serve.” “Since 2004, Father Matt also has served as one of several members who of the Diocesan Tribunal, a church court. Matters that come before the Diocesan Tribunal include marriage questions and others issues in the Church’s Canon Law.”
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.