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	Group Wants Review of Center Where Kansas Sent Abusive Ex-Priest The Associated Press, carried in Wichita Eagle April 5, 2006 http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/14271122.htm ST. LOUIS -- Victims of abuse by Roman Catholic priests on Wednesday asked Missouri's governor to investigate two residential centers where abusive and convicted priests are sent for rehabilitation. The St. John Vianney Center in Dittmer and Evergreen Hill in Robertsville lack adequate oversight, said David Clohessy of St. Louis, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). The group is seeking an investigation into how the facilities operate and what security measures are in place to ensure the safety of children in surrounding communities. "We find it troubling that the state regulates cosmetologists and undertakers but not Catholic priests who supervise abusive Catholic priests," Clohessy said. "These centers operate with no state oversight whatsoever. Church officials time and time again tell judges and prosecutors these facilities are secure, when they are not." The request comes after the Rev. Robert Larson, who was recently released after spending five years in a Kansas prison for molesting four children, was sent to live permanently at the St. John Vianney Center in Dittmer, about 30 miles south of St. Louis. Larson, a priest in the Wichita diocese for 30 years, pleaded guilty in 2001 to abusing three altar boys and a 19-year-old man while he was pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church at Newton, Kan., in the mid-1980s. "When they come here, how can Missourians be assured that they are indeed being isolated and monitored and kept away from kids?" Clohessy asked. Blunt spokesman Spence Jackson said the governor "takes the safety and security of Missourians very seriously and empathizes with people who have been sexually abused. "We will review this request to determine which branch of government is best-suited to ensure people in the St. Louis region are protected from sex offenders," Jackson said. A spokesman for the St. Louis Archdiocese declined comment. An official at the Vianney center did not return phone messages. There was no telephone listing for Evergreen Hill. Little is known about the facilities. Some priests and former priests living there have been convicted of abuse; others have been sent after abuse allegations or lawsuits. The number of residents at both centers is uncertain. Clohessy believes the number has grown substantially in recent years because other similar facilities around the country have been shut down. Clohessy said at least three priests sent to the centers from elsewhere in the U.S. have been accused of abusing children after relocating to Missouri. "We suspect there are many more," Clohessy said. "We're convinced it's just a matter of time before it happens again." Larson, 76, will report to parole officers in Missouri. At the Vianney center, he will receive treatment similar to that provided to sexual predators at the prison where he was housed outside of Larned, Kan., a spokesman for Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline said. Larson's attorney, Dan Monnat, said his client will not be able to leave the center without strict supervision.
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