Advocates for clergy abuse survivors are calling for the reassignment of a recently appointed priest at a Lenexa Catholic parish and also calling on the local archdiocese to have a public accounting of how the priest’s placement was made.

On Thursday afternoon, three members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) stood in front of the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle in Kansas City, Kansas, to discuss the recent appointment of Father John Pilcher at Holy Trinity.

They also called on the archdiocese to fire the first-year principal at Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park, who was a defendant in a sexual abuse lawsuit in Arizona in 2005.

“The overarching reason we’re here today is to invite the archbishop to host a joint open public meeting to talk about these troubling cases of accused predators being put back (in positions of power),” said David Clohessy, a former SNAP director who spoke on Thursday in Kansas City, Kansas.

“Why take the risk?” SNAP members asked

In January, Pilcher was appointed by the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas to be the Holy Trinity parish’s new senior associate pastor.

During the Mass earlier this month when Pilcher was introduced, he acknowledged that he was accused of sexual assault of a minor while working as a pastor at Mater Dei Catholic Parish in Topeka.

An investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation left the claims unsubstantiated, and Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay declined to file charges.

“These are not convicted criminals. But they’re accused,” Clohessy said Thursday. “Some of them have been sued. And our position is simply, ‘Why take the risk?'”

SNAP finds other troubling appointments

Along with Pilcher, SNAP also brought up Father James W. Jackson, a Rhode Island priest who was sentenced in December 2023 to six years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.

In September 2021, he was caught sharing files of child sexual abuse material by the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC).

While living in Overland Park as he awaited trial in June 2022, the Kansas ICAC seized a computer and hard drive from Jackson that contained deleted file names indicative of child sexual abuse material.

SNAP claims the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas did not report Jackson’s sentencing to anyone in the Kansas area.

SNAP members on Thursday also criticized the hiring last year of Phil Baniewicz as the president of Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park. 

Along with two other priests, Baniewicz was named in a 2005 civil sexual abuse lawsuit in Arizona where a man claimed he was abused in 1985. The case was settled out of court for $100,000.

In a letter to families around the time of his hiring, Baniewicz said that he had previously faced “false allegations” and had to “endure persecution.”

SNAP wants transparency

While the SNAP members recognize the cleared investigations and settlements, Clohessy said they find the Archdiocese appointing both Pilcher and Baniewicz to institutions with children as inappropriate. (Holy Trinity’s parish also has a K-8 school with about 600 students.)

“Our issue is fundamentally, let’s put the safety of children first,” Clohessy said. “Let’s err on the side of caution and let’s show some consideration for the parents and the parishioners  who need and deserve to know that kids’ safety is the priority, not necessarily the recycling of accused predators.”

Clohessy added that since the appointment of Pilcher was announced, he’s heard mixed feelings from multiple Holy Trinity parishioners.

“They’re afraid if they speak up, they’ll be retaliated against,” he said.

The Archdiocese has responded

In an email response to questions Thursday afternoon, the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas defended its appointment of Pilcher.

“Throughout the investigation and up to the present day, the Archdiocese has been transparent about the allegation and the process and protocol that followed and has continued to issue public updates,” it stated.

It also stated it conducted an in-depth vetting process for Baniewicz’s hiring, including a criminal background check and interviews with work and personal references.

In regards to Jackson, it stated he resided in Overland Park while awaiting trial, but never served under the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and was granted no faculties to serve in the Archdiocese when he was in Kansas.

The archdiocese’s statement also said that Jackson’s sentencing was announced in the diocesan newspaper, The Leaven.

“The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has been and will continue to respond to all concerns and questions by parents and parishioners at Holy Trinity. Anyone who would like to discuss their concerns should email [email protected],” it stated.

Anyone with knowledge about any misconduct by any church volunteer, employee, religious or clergy member to contact civil authorities first, and then make a report to the archdiocese’s confidential report line at (913) 647-3051 or online at www.archkck.org/reportabuse.