Catholic churches in Missouri named in federal civil lawsuit

MISSOURI ( KSNF ) — Eight Missouri Catholic churches are named in a federal civil lawsuit filed last week by 11 plaintiffs who say they were sexually abused by clergy members more than 20 years ago.

The plaintiffs, who are adults now, say that when they were children in the ’70s and ’80s — they were subjected to sexual abuse by priests, and that the diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau turned a blind eye to the abuse.

Catholic churches listed in the lawsuit are St. Peter’s and St. Mary’s in Joplin, St. Ann’s in Carthage, Sacred Heart in Webb City, St. Canera’s in Neosho, along with Catholic churches in Mount Vernon, Pierce City, and Wentworth.

Plaintiffs are listed only by initials in the civil suit but include one girl and two boys from Neosho, a boy from Joplin, and one from Carthage.

Six men who formerly served as parish priests are named in the suit along with a monsignor. The plaintiffs allege that the actions and inactions of the diocese were to blame for the repeated abuse.

One of the priests listed in the lawsuit, Father Leonard Chambers, was moved around to nearly all the parishes listed in the suit.

The men and women bringing this court action say the diocese not only knew about Chambers but enabled him to continue abusing children and then covered it up.

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