St. Louis Archbishop to Testify Today in Priest Abuse Case

KMOX
September 19, 2013

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/09/19/st-louis-archbishop-to-testify-today-in-priest-abuse-case/

The Most Reverend Robert Carlson wipes his forehead as he battles the 90 degree heat during the Procession of Bishops before becoming the ninth Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. Louis at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis in St. Louis on June 10, 2009. St. Louis will be Carlson’s fourth diocese; he most recently served as the bishop of Saginaw, Mich.

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) — St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson is scheduled to testify today in a priest abuse case.

The case involves a longtime Carlson associate, Father Joseph Jiang. Jiang is accused of molesting an underage girl in Lincoln County in recent years and accused of attempted witness tampering in the form of a $20,000 check allegedly left on the car on the victim’s family.

Jiang was an Associate Pastor at the Cathedral Basilica and lived in Carlson’s private residence in St. Louis.

Carlson is accused in a separate civil suit of calling the victim’s mother and asking her to give him the check. The archdiocese has denied those allegations.

Carlson’s deposition is scheduled for Thursday at the Rigali Center in Shrewsbury.

David Clohessy with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says Carlson could refuse to testify on grounds that he may incriminate himself.