List of 22 clergy with substantiated claims of sexual abuse released by KCK Archdiocese

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas released Friday the names of 22 clergy with substantiated claims of sexual abuse involving a minor.

The Chicago office of law firm Husch Blackwell reviewed about 1,080 clergy files, according to the archdiocese’s publication The Leaven.

Of the 22 listed, 10 were priests in the archdiocese. Eleven have died and seven have been laicized. Laicization occurs when a cleric officially returns to the lay state.

One of the named priests, Martin Juarez, led St. Matthew’s Parish in Topeka. Scott Goodloe said in August that he was victimized from 1981 to 1984 by Juarez and a claim was settled in 1999.

A lawsuit filed last year accuses a “Father M.J.” of abuse. The lawsuit is ongoing in Wyandotte County, where the archdiocese is based.

“Survivors of sexual abuse have for many, many years asked the Church to make publicly known those wrapped in the robes of a priest who have abused children,” said attorney Rebecca Randles, who is representing the alleged victim in the case. “The partial list provided by the Archdiocese of Kansas is a start but does not go far enough to provide real transparency regarding abuse of children and vulnerable adults. It is our hope that the attorney general’s office will undergo a complete investigation similar to that in Pennsylvania.”

A grand jury report on six dioceses in Pennsylvania, released in August, found more than 1,000 child victims. It included details about how priests used religious rituals and the threat of eternity in hell to rape children, the Associated Press reported.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt said he has received information from the archdiocese as it has become available, including the information released Friday.

Named abusers

Clergy listed with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were:

John Brayley

Lambert Dannenfelser

John Fiala

William Finnerty

James Forsythe

Lawrence Ginzkey

Dave Gottschalk

John J. Harrington

David Imming

Martin Juarez

Marvin Justi

Steven Lamping

Adrian Licktieg

Finian Meis

Donald Redmond

Barry Richardson

Edward Roberts

Frank Schepers

Dennis Schmitz

John Henry Wisner

Chuck Wolfe

Camillus Wurtz

On Nov. 15, he asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to assess the information and conduct any criminal investigation that may be appropriate. The KBI established an internal task force.

“That work is ongoing,” Schmidt said.

The Diocese of Salina is undergoing a similar independent review. Schmidt said he has asked the KBI to contact representatives of the Dioceses of Wichita and Dodge City.

The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has more than 100 parishes across northeast Kansas.

The abuse dates back to the 1940s, with nine abusers identified from the 1980s, according to the review. No substantiated cases were found after 2000.

“I thank all victims who have courageously come forward with allegations in order to prevent someone else from being victimized, as well as to assist with the progress of their own healing process,” Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann said in his column in The Leaven.

The statewide Victim Assistance Hotline can be reached at (800) 828-9745 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. In addition, the KBI is accepting reports about alleged sexual abuse