Lawsuit accuses late Little Flower priest of sex abuse

Associated Press/June 22, 2006

St. Louis, MO -- A new lawsuit claims a Catholic priest sexually abused an altar boy more than two decades ago, but that the accuser's memory of the incident was repressed until recently.

The suit comes just days after the Missouri Supreme Court allowed another repressed memory case to move forward.

The suit does not name the plaintiff, but it accuses the Reverend John Roger McDonough of sexual abuse in 1982, when the man was an altar boy at Little Flower Parish in Richmond Heights. McDonough died in 1985.

The man says he had repressed his memory of the abuse until about 18 months ago. The suit seeks damages from the St. Louis Archdiocese, which declined to comment.

In a statement, though, the archdiocese said anyone who might have been harmed should call the Office of Child and Youth Protection (314-633-2279).

• St. Pius V in south City ('65-'68)
• St. Jerome in Bissel Hills ('68-'76)
• All Saints in U. City ('76-'78)
• Mary, Queen of Peace in Webster Groves ('78-'81)
• Little Flower in Richmond Heights ('81-'83)
• St. Timothy in Affton ('83-'85)
  (also served as campus minister at Florissant Valley Community College during time in Bissel Hills, and as campus minister at Washington University Medical School at Barnes Hospital during his time in University City)