OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — A Bowling Green man has filed a complaint with the Vatican against Diocese of Owensboro Bishop William Medley.
The Survivors Network of victims abused by Priests, or SNAP, presented the details in a news conference in Owensboro on Friday.
The complaint questions Bishop Medley’s actions while he served as the personnel director for the Diocese of Louisville in the 1990’s.
“A moment of silence to remember our brothers and sisters […] who are no longer with us.”
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests asked for a moment of silence for victims before calling for action.
“We’re calling on the Kentucky Attorney General to launch a statewide investigation into clergy sex crimes and coverups here,” stated Missouri SNAP director David Clohessy.
The call comes after Michael Montgomery of Bowling Green filed a formal complaint, alleging Owensboro Bishop William Medley was “complicit in the covering up of abuse of the diocese’s children by assisting in assigning priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse to positions where children were expected to be involved.”
“To sit up there, and not address these… the statute of limitations is long gone,” said Montgomery.
The accusations stem from memos Medley sent during his time in the Diocese of Louisville.
One of those memos discusses placement of Father Joseph Stoltz who was receiving treatment at the time.
The memo reads in part “I think if we wanted to unofficially assign him to Saint William, pending the outcome of his six month therapy, he might be open to this.”
It goes on to say “Given Joe’s history, Saint William might be a very good assignment, in that there are so few youth and children who participate in that parish.”
SNAP and Montgomery also allege that two priests were left off the list of “credibly accused priests” released by the Owensboro Diocese in April. They say it is a nationwide problem.
“Every one of those lists we’ve looked at, is incomplete,” said Clohessy. “Every single bishop engages in hairsplitting and excuse making to leave priests off the list.”
The ten page formal complaint has been submitted to Pope Francis’s top U.S. official.
“I pray that I am wrong. But if not, the church needs to own up.”
We have tried to reach out to the Diocese of Owensboro for comment.
So far, we have not heard back.
You can read those memos here.
