KANSAS CITY (KS)
KMBC - ABC 9 [Kansas City MO]
January 8, 2023
By Peyton Headlee
The 21-page report details what KBI calls an immense investigation. It has a scope of more than 50 years, looking into all four archdioceses of Kansas
A new report from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation shows the extent of child abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church in Kansas.
The 21-page report details what KBI calls an immense investigation. It has a scope of more than 50 years, looking into all four archdioceses of Kansas.
During the four-year investigation, KBI’s Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Task Force identified more than 400 victims, opened 125 criminal cases and investigated nearly 200 clergy members.
The Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, recommended this investigation to the Attorney General’s Office in November 2018. On Saturday, they released a statement in response to the report — saying you cannot read it without your heart breaking.
It says in part, “[Archbishop Joseph Naumann] joins bishops across the state of Kansas in offering his deepest apologies to the victims, their families, the faithful of the church, and the Kansas Catholic community at large.”
The statement added the Archdiocese of KCK has adopted a victim-centered approach to address the “grave harm of abuse.”
Rebecca Randles is an attorney in Kansas City. Since 1988, she has represented hundreds of victims of childhood sex abuse by clergy.
“This is like soul murder because it’s not just a close, trusted individual who’s abusing them. It is the person who stands in the footsteps of God,” Randles said.
She said the numbers from the KBI report were shocking.
“In a small state like Kansas with a population as small as it is, that’s a huge number because they would have access to so many thousands of children,” she said.
She said the report does not show the emotional toll the abuse has taken on the victims. It also does not list the names of the clergy members who the KBI investigated.
“Frustrating wouldn’t really describe the level of hopelessness and helplessness that both those of us who represent victims and the victims themselves feel,” Randles said. “This is a huge number of children in the state of Kansas, and without some form of justice, healing just isn’t … It is impossible.”
In the report, KBI said it distributed 30 charging affidavits. So far, no prosecutor has filed any charges. That’s because most of the cases are outside the statute of limitations or the priest is no longer living.
Some of the offenses considered for charging include aggravated criminal sodomy, rape, indecent liberties with a child, abuse of a child and unlawful sexual relations.