ST. LOUIS (MO)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Documents offer glimpse of correspondence
Cases that may be used as evidence
By Lilly Fowler • lfowler@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8221 AND Robert Patrick • rpatrick@post-dispatch.com 314-621-51541
When the Rev. Joseph D. Ross was assigned to minister at St. Cronan Church, the other priest there already knew his secret.
He heard the pastor coming to help him in 1991 had just returned from the St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Md., a mental health treatment center for Catholic clergy, according to court filings.
The priest recognized that in all likelihood this was code for Ross having just undergone therapy for a sexual attraction to children. Although the priest worried about the well-being of the parishioners, according to court filings, the Archdiocese of St. Louis assured him that Ross was fit to return to ministry.
Twenty years later, a young woman who attended St. Cronan between 1997 and 2001 would claim she was abused by Ross when she was only 5 or 6 years old, filing a civil lawsuit against the priest and the archdiocese. The alleged victim and perpetrator are set to finally have their day in court when a trial begins next month at the Carnahan Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. …
JOSEPH D. ROSS: A TIMELINE
In a lawsuit, a woman claims the Rev. Joseph D. Ross abused her when she was a child attending St. Cronan Church. The suit also claims the Archdiocese of St. Louis failed to take steps to protect children.
1969 • Ross is ordained.
1969-1974 • Ross is assigned to Immacolata Catholic Church in Richmond Heights.
1972 • Ross is arrested after being caught by police masturbating with two other men in a store bathroom. The charges are later dismissed.
1974-76 • Ross is assigned to St. William in Woodson Terrace.
1975-77 • According to a 2002 lawsuit, Ross is accused of sexually abusing a young boy at St. William.
1978-82 • Assigned to St. Bridget of Kildare in Pacific.
1982-86 • Assigned to St. Francis De Sales in St. Louis.
1986-88 • Assigned to Christ the King in University City.
1986 • Ross is charged with grabbing and kissing an 11-year-old boy multiple times during confession at Christ the King. He pleads guilty in 1988 to sexually assaulting the boy and is sentenced to two years probation.
1988 • Sent to treatment center in Washington D.C. area.
1989 -1991 • Assigned to Corpus Christi Parish in Jennings.
1991 • Assigned to St. Cronan Church in St. Louis.
1997-01 • According to the current lawsuit, Ross is accused of molesting and raping a young girl. Criminal charges are filed in the case in 2008, but are dropped in 2010.
2002 • The Vatican announces Ross’ laicization. Ross then moves to Arkansas.
Source: Post-Dispatch archives and BishopAccountability.org
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