© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Diocese of Jefferson City Adds Two Names to List of Accused Priests

Two names were added to the list of priests and religious leaders accused of abuse and released by the Diocese of Jefferson City over the weekend.

The original list, released Nov. 8 by Bishop W. Shawn McKnight, contained 33 names. The two additions brought the total to 35.


The two names added are Don Greene and Mel Lahr, and the status of Robert Duesdieker was changed. Greene is no longer living. Lahr was removed from the ministry along with Duesdieker. Lahr’s removal was due to a “credible allegation of violation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” the diocese said via a statement on its website. Duesdieker was also removed for a violation of the charter.

 
 
Duesdieker’s status was changed, as McKnight believed the standards for the Charter for The Protection of Children and Young People were now applicable. Previously, Duesdieker was “unsuitable for ministry out of concern for the safety of our youth,” according to the diocese’s website.

On Dec. 5, the Diocesan Review Board recommended the two names be added and one status be changed, which McKnight approved.

Helen Osman, director of diocesan communications, said the two additional allegations were reviewed after the release of the initial list, thus delaying their additions to the list of accused.

The diocese has said the last case of abuse occurred in 1997. After that, the diocese said it received two credible allegations of violations of the U.S. Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. One of the violations was inappropriate use of social media, and the other involved internet pornography depicting minors.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a support group for individuals harmed by religious authorities, has been critical of the diocese’s efforts at transparency about abuse within the church.

“Bishops still, for the most part, do the bare minimum,” said David Clohessy St. Louis director of SNAP. “(Bishops) say and do whatever will get them off the hook in the short term.”

Clohessy said he believes the list, including the two recent additions, is still incomplete. According to the SNAP organization website, three priests publicly accused of child molestation were left off of the list. One of them, Fr. Frederick A. Lenczycki, was at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Columbia in the mid-1980s and was later convicted of sexual abuse in the Joliet, Illinois, area.

“We have never yet seen a bishop whose list we believed was complete,” Clohessy said.

 
The diocese provides resources for victims to report abuse, including the Jefferson City Victim assistance coordinator, Nancy Hoey, at 573-694-3199; the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-3738; and the Missouri Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210.