6A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2005
ABUSE SCANDAL
Group urges name removal
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A group of survivors of clergy sexual abuse yesterday urged the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Mo. and a Boy Scout group to remove the name of a priest accused of sexual abuse from a chapel at a Boy Scout camp near St. Joseph.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests asked Bishop Robert Finn and a Boy Scout headquarters in St. Joseph to remove the name of the late Rev. Sylvester Hoppe from the chapel at Camp Geiger.
The Scouts named the chapel after Hoppe in 1999 in honor of his nearly 75 years of involvement with the organization.
In the last three years, three men have filed lawsuits against the diocese claiming that Hoppe sexually abused them in the 1950s. The diocese settled one lawsuit for $10,000; the other two are still pending. The men claim in the lawsuits that the diocese ignored and covered up reports of abuse by Hoppe, who died in 2002.
SNAP thinks other lawsuits
against Hoppe are likely, said David Clohessy, the group's national director.
"Publicly honoring an accused serial molester severely discourages other victims who are considering reporting these kinds of crimes," he said.
Although the camp is owned by the Boy Scouts and the diocese has no authority to change the name, it could encourage the Scouts to take that step, Clohesy said.
The Rev. Robert Murphy, vicar general of the diocese, issued a statement that did not address SNAP's request, other than noting that the Boy Scouts own and supervise the camp.
Murphy said the diocese regrets any clergy sexual abuse and is ready to help any victims.
"We stand ready to offer our support and our resources for healing to victims and survivors of abuse," Murphy said in the statement.
The head of the Boy Scout headquarters in St. Joseph said the request would be forwarded to the group's facilities committee for any possible action.
Blue sky, wet walk
A man walks down Jayhawk Boulevard Monday during a brief rain shower. Wet weather moved through Lawrence earlier this week.
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