Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
1945-2019 · 74 years · show in timeline

Missouri 1945 to 2019: The Attorney General found 163 instances of abuse by priests and deacons; for decades the church protected its priests instead of the victims

The Missouri Attorney General reviewed the personnel records of more than 2,000 priests of the four dioceses since 1945 and published his report on 13 September 2019. It lists credible allegations of 163 instances of sexual abuse or misconduct by diocesan priests and deacons against minors; the number of victims cannot be quantified. For decades, the report says, the church refused to acknowledge the victims and protected its priests; the standard response was a short period of treatment and reassignment to a new parish without informing the parishioners. One bishop tried to identify a suing victim in the news media. Bishop Robert Finn pleaded guilty in 2012 to failing to report a priest's child pornography. The report referred twelve cases for prosecution.

Period
1945-2019 (74 years)
Country
United States
Institutions
Archdiocese of St. Louis
Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau
Diocese of Jefferson City
Category
Sexual abuse, Cover-up
Level of evidence
A Primary source · what does this mean?
Persons
Robert Finn (Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph, pleaded guilty in 2012 to failing to report suspected abuse)

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

  1. The Attorney General's Office reviewed every available personnel record of every priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the Dioceses of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Springfield-Cape Girardeau and Jefferson City since 1945, more than 2,000 priests in all, as well as the records of over 300 deacons, seminarians and religious women. The report lists credible allegations of 163 instances of sexual abuse or misconduct by diocesan priests and deacons against minors, from boundary violations to forcible rape. The number of victims cannot be quantified; priests abusing more than one victim are frequent. According to the report, no region of Missouri was spared.
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 4
    „In all, this review involved the records of more than 2,000 priests.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 4. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 4
    „In all, this report includes credible allegations of 163 instances of sexual abuse or misconduct by Catholic diocesan priests and deacons against minors.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 4. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 4
    „It is impossible to quantify the number of victims based on the information available to the AGO, but instances of priests abusing more than one victim are frequent.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 4. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 2
    „Sexual Abuse of minors by members of Missouri’s four Roman Catholic dioceses has been a far-reaching, long-standing scandal. No region of the State of Missouri has been spared.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 2. Original · Archive copy

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph failed for five months to report that the priest Shawn Ratigan possessed child pornography. Finn pleaded guilty in 2012 to failure to report suspected abuse; his resignation was not accepted by the pope until 2015. The report referred to prosecutors twelve cases from all four dioceses in which a conviction seemed possible and the statute of limitations had not run. Many acts from the 1980s and earlier are time-barred.
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 6
    „Bishop Finn failed to report possession of child pornography and other misconduct by Shawn Ratigan“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 6. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 6
    „Finn pleaded guilty to failure to report suspected abuse in 2012, but his resignation from the office of bishop was not accepted by the Pope until 2015.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 6. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 15
    „the AGO has identified twelve cases in which there may be a reasonable likelihood for a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that criminal conduct occurred and where the statute of limitations would not“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 15. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 5
    „many acts of abuse occurring in the 1980s and before remain time barred from prosecution“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 5. Original · Archive copy

What happened to those affected?

  1. From the case summaries: when an allegation was made in 1991 against a priest who allegedly abused an elementary school child from 1967 to 1971, the bishop publicly commented on the unfairness of the victim suing as "John Doe" and attempted to identify the victim in the news media. In 1988 a child placed a chair under the bedroom doorknob to keep out a priest who was an overnight guest in the house. At a high school seminary, according to the records, the priests in leadership knew of each other's misconduct towards students; one of them later became bishop of two dioceses outside Missouri and kept the title bishop after his admission until his death in 2012.
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 41, Fall 01
    „Bishop publicly commented on the unfairness of victim suing as “John Doe” and attempted to identify the victim in the news media“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 41, Fall 01. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 41, Fall 02
    „Child placed a chair under the bedroom doorknob to prevent Priest from entering his room.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 41, Fall 02. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 43, Fall 04
    „Records show that priests working in leadership of the seminary knew of each other’s inappropriate conduct and molestation of students.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 43, Fall 04. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 43, Fall 04
    „After resignation as bishop and admission of abuse, Priest 04 retained the title “most reverend” and “bishop” until his death in 2012.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 43, Fall 04. Original · Archive copy

Background

Why? Justification and motives (according to the sources)

  1. According to the report, the offenders exploited the tremendous deference of parishioners towards priests, misused their offices and church resources for trips with children and even identified victims through the sacrament of reconciliation. Bishops, the report says, report to no one below the pope; there is no independent oversight of a bishop's implementation of church protocols.
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 3
    „even identified victims through the sacrament of reconciliation“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 3. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 7
    „Bishops report to no one below the Pope in the hierarchy of the church“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 7. Original · Archive copy

Who received the assets, who profited?

  1. According to the report, despite winning significant victories in litigation, the dioceses have paid tens of millions of dollars in settlements and judgments to victims.
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 5
    „the dioceses have paid tens of millions of dollars in settlements and judgments to victims“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 5. Original · Archive copy

Response of the Church

  1. According to the report, for decades, faced with credible reports of abuse, the church refused to acknowledge the victims and focused its efforts on protecting its priests. The standard response of church leadership was a short-term period of treatment followed by reassignment to a new parish; the old and new parishes were not told the reason. Before and during the 1980s the church at best ignored reports of abuse and at worst actively suppressed them and moved offending priests to new parishes. Victims were sometimes subjected to cross-examination and misinformation by diocesan leadership.
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 2
    „For decades, faced with credible reports of abuse, the church refused to acknowledge the victims and instead focused its efforts on protecting its priests.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 2. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 2
    „The standard response to reports of abuse by church leadership was to move an offending priest into a short-term period of treatment and then reassign him to public ministry in a new parish.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 2. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 7
    „at worst, actively suppressing reports and seeking to avoid controversy by moving offending priests to new parishes“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 7. Original · Archive copy
    Evidence: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, S. 7
    „Sometimes victims were subject to cross-examination and misinformation by diocesan leadership.“
    Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, S. 7. Original · Archive copy

See also

Original documents to read

  1. Government report
    Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt: Catholic Church Clergy Abuse Investigation Report, 13 September 2019. Original · Archive copy (retrieved 30 Oct 2026)
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Last changed on 30 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.