Resident says people should be warned of accused priests
The buttociated Press Lexington Herlad Leader Sunday, September 11, 2005
Owensboro, Ky. - Residents should be warned when Roman Catholic priests who were accused, but not convicted, of loveual abuse live in their neighborhoods, a man says.
In response, church and law enforcement officials said that people who have not been tried and convicted of a crime don't have to register.
The call for notification was made by Gerald Payne, who has a lawsuit pending against the diocese over abuse he claims he suffered from a priest when he was a child. He is also state coordinator of Survivor Network for those Abused by Priests.
At issue are two priests living in a small apartment complex owned by the Catholic Diocese of Owensboro. Of the retired or inactive priests living there, two have had allegations of loveual abuse made against them, said Bishop John McRaith of the Owensboro Diocese.
"That's common knowledge," he said. "It's been known for a long time."
The bishop said no neighbors have complained. But Payne responded that "parents can't protect their kids unless they know who they are protecting them against."
Payne's criticism comes before a meeting in this western Kentucky city on Tuesday by a state task force looking at ways to beef up the Kentucky love Offender Registration program.
related crimes are required to register their address at all times during their registration period. The public has access to that information.
The allegations against the two priests are 20 to 30 years old, McRaith said. Both were in limited ministry positions in the 1990s and were removed from ministry altogether after the nation's Catholic bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2001, he said. They are not covered by the state's loveual offender registry, however.
"The two people living there have never been convicted of an offense," said Donna Sauer, a canon lawyer who is coordinator of the diocese's compliance with the charter.
They have never been tried, and the church was not sued in those cases. And the victims have not asked that their cases be made public, Sauer said.
"Until that person is ever charged with an offense, they should not be required to do anything," such as register as a love offender, said Daviess County Commonwealth's Attorney Jay Wethington.
State law does require the diocese to report to law enforcement any allegation of felony loveual abuse, Wethington said. There is no statute of limitations on felonies, he said. The church also is required to report any misdemeanor allegation, which could involve things like touching or indecent exposure, that occurred within the last 12 months.
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