Diocese of La Crosse Releases Names of Accused Clergy

Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Stevens Point. Photo by Nathan Dorn

Another Catholic Diocese in Wisconsin has released the names of clergy facing substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse. 

The list includes 25 clergies, nine of which at one point, served at a parish in Stevens Point. However, if a parish is listed it does not necessarily mean the act of abuse occurred at that parish. 

The Diocese of La Crosse, which serves nearly 200,000 Catholics and includes Portage County, released the public list on Jan. 18. 

The Diocese of La Crosse states that an allegation is deemed to be substantiated “if it has been sufficiently confirmed so as to believe that abuse occurred,” meaning, allegations on the list are not derived through a legal process.

An independent review of clergy files was responsible for the list, which dates back to 1868. None of the clergy listed currently serve at any parish and many are deceased. The public list will remain up-to-date on the Protect and Heal page on the Diocese of La Crosse website. 

According to an announcement made for Holy Spirit Catholic Parish, here in Stevens Point:

“The Dioceses is disclosing these names as part of its long-standing commitment to providing a safe environment for children in the Church. It will also help survivors of abuse find healing and it is a necessary step to regaining the trust and confidence of people within and without the church.” 

Along with the Diocese of La Crosse, four other dioceses in Wisconsin have thus far released lists of the names of clergy facing allegations, including Green Bay, Madison, Superior, and the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Since the 1970s, more than 11,000 childhood sexual abuse accusations have been made against Catholic priests and brothers in the United States. In Wisconsin, as of Dec. 2019, roughly 170 priests have been credibly accused. 

Father Steve Brice, Priest at Holy Spirit Church, has been a priest for 37 years. He states that the Church has been addressing this issue since the 90s and early 2000s. 

Father Steve Brice has been a priest for 37 years and is currently the priest for Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Stevens Point
Photo by Nathan Dorn

Father Brice said, “This all broke in the media back in 2001 or 2002. In 2002, the national Catholic Church put in a set of policies called Safe Environment.”

Since that time, Catholic Churches in the U.S. have implemented various practices and policies in order to tighten the entrance process of priests, monitor in-church activities, and review allegations. This has included criminal background checks, psychological testing, audits through the Safe Environment program as well as the Diocesan Independent Review Board, which reviews safe environment policies and sexual abuse allegations.

Recently, a video was shown in every church in the Diocese of La Crosse. It featured Willaim Patrick Callahan, Bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse, discussing the disclosure of names as an important step for the victims and the church. 

Alex Egbert, recent UWSP graduate and Holy Spirit parish member, agrees with the releasing of names. 

Alex Egbert is a recent UWSP graduate, athlete and member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church
Photo from UWSP Track and Field

“It’s not the faith, it’s not what we believe and we have to make up for it and fix the problem.”

Egbert also speaks to how this issue has hurt the representation of the church and of the faith. 

“People did make mistakes, people did do bad things and it doesn’t represent the church, but the church has to deal with it.” 

And in large numbers, it has been dealing with it. In Pennsylvania dioceses alone, $84 million was paid out to 564 victims, with that number likely to grow. The widely-publicized sexual abuse scandal in Pennsylvania resulted in a grand jury report that found 300 priests accused of abusing more than 1,000 victims, with the vast majority of accusations dating from before 2002.

The Pennsylvania scandal, as well as this issue more broadly, has likely made many Catholics and non-Catholics alike question possible causes. According to Father Brice, this problem exists similarly among all professions; meaning that it is not unique to the Catholic Church. 

According to Father Brice, “Although a small percentage of those convicted of abuse have the psychological disorder of pedophilia, the vast majority of offenders are people whose lives have gotten so out-of-balance that they begin to seek pleasure and satisfaction in unhealthy ways instead of healthy ways.”

Additionally, he believes that “the sexual abuse issue is really about abuse of power, misuse of power.”

But whatever the root cause or causes are, Father Brice believes that previous steps the church has taken, including releasing these lists, supporting victims, and employing transparency in the Church, will largely alleviate this issue moving forward.

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