Accused Kansas City Deacon returned to ministry; survivors’ group raises concerns
For immediate release: December 27, 2024
The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph announced yesterday that a Deacon accused in a lawsuit of child sexual abuse has been returned to ministry. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests has serious concerns about this development.
Bishop James Johnston lifted Deacon Ralph Wehner’s suspension on December 26, 2024, after his Independent Ombudsman found no additional corroboration for the August 1st accusation, and the lawsuit in which the complaint was made was withdrawn. We are afraid that the Bishop is gambling with the safety of children in the Diocese. It is irresponsible to put an accused back on the job after a brief suspension and what appears to us to be a cursory investigation.
It does not seem that Bishop Johnston’s Ombudsman used parish bulletins and pulpit announcements to ask the faithful for any information they might have about the accusations. To us, it is both telling and disturbing that he did not offer one word of explanation as to what was done to look into these accusations, which described criminal behavior.
Moreover, Kansas City Church officials either do not know or did not disclose why the accuser dropped his lawsuit. In fact, Bishop Johnston never even confirmed or denied that Deacon Wehner is the same cleric who was accused of abusing a St. Louis boy.
Providing such limited information on such an important matter is, we believe, insulting to parishioners. We have certainly seen other examples where a preliminary investigation has cleared a clergyman, only to have him later removed.
We encourage anyone who has any information that might prove or disprove the abuse report against Deacon Wehner to contact independent sources of help, including police, prosecutors, therapists, and support groups like ours.
CONTACT: David Clohessy, SNAP Missouri ([email protected], 314-566-9790), Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
