By Hilary White
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ST. LOUIS, November 6, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri has announced that four priests, previously suspended upon credible accusations of sexual abuse, have been permanently removed from the ranks of the priesthood. The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has dismissed the men at the request of Archbishop Raymond Burke.
All four, James A. Funke, James L. Gummersbach, Bryan M. Kuchar, and Michael L. Seidel, had already been suspended from their priestly functions, meaning that “they were forbidden to function or represent themselves in any way as priests.” Three of the four had acted as priests in several different parishes and two had been on the staff of local Catholic high schools.
The diocesan newspaper, the St. Louis Review says that Funke, 58, was sentenced in 1987 to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to 10 counts of second-degree deviate sexual assault. All four of the men are named in either civil or criminal proceedings for sexual abuse of boys.
The St. Louis Review reports that Funke, 58, was sentenced in 1987 to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to 10 counts of second-degree deviate sexual assault. He had been charged with the sexual molestation of two teenage boys. Kuchar, 41, was sentenced to three years in the prison following his conviction on three counts of statutory sodomy.
The Archbishop said in a statement that “he deplores the evil of sexual abuse of a minor and reiterated his and the archdiocese’s concern for the welfare of all children.”
The “laicization” or reduction to the lay state, is an internal matter for the Church authorities and will have no direct bearing on any criminal cases or lawsuits that may still be pending against the men.
Archbishop Raymond Burke, appointed by the Vatican to head the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 2003, issued the statement expressing his “deepest regret to all who have been harmed by these men and to anyone who has been abused by a member of the clergy.”