admin
A second lawsuit has now been filed against a priest who once served at Holy Cross school and parish.
John Doe M.F., 38, of Missouri, recently filed a lawsuit in the Jackson County Circuit Court and alleged that Father Mark Honhart sexually molested him as an 11 to 12-year-old boy while Honhart was working at Holy Cross in the 1980s.
John Doe also named the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as a defendant in the suit, which stated that the Diocese knowingly concealed, abetted and ratified the sexual abuse of their minor parishioners by Defendant Fr. Mark Honhart.
While working for the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, Father Honhart served six parishes from 1980 to 2001 and was last employed at the Diocese of Scranton.
According to court documents, John Doe was raised in a devout Catholic family who taught him a deep respect for the Catholic church and its clergy.
John Doe viewed Honhart as a respected authority figure and according to court documents, Honhart behaved as though the sexual abuse were normal, even beneficial activities for the plaintiff… At the time that Defendant had unlawful sexual contact with Plaintiff, Defendant falsely represented to Plaintiff that he was providing supervision, spiritual and emotional counseling, comfort, mentoring and advice to the Plaintiff.
Honhart normalized the alleged sexual abuse in such a way that John Doe had no way of discerning it was abuse, stated the petition for damages.
In his lawsuit, John Doe further stated that the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph knew about Honhart’s sexual misconduct, but failed to report him to law enforcement authorities and covered up misconduct by moving priests from posting to posting.
Sexual misconduct wasn’t limited to Father Honhart, John Doe said, alleging that the problem was widespread throughout the Diocese.
John Doe is asking for compensatory damages from all defendants and has requested a jury trial.
Diocese statement
In a formal statement, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph said that during Father Honhart’s ministry in their Diocese there were no complaints of sexual misconduct brought to the attention of his superiors.
Northeast News contacted the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph and asked for their response on the allegations made against the Diocese.
We can’t respond until we know the identity of the person and the background of the allegation is made known, Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph Director of Communications Rebecca Summers said. We need more facts.
Summers also added that a civil lawsuit is the only avenue where someone can’t be prosecuted for defamation.
They certainly can go to the police, but when they don’t do that and file a lawsuit (instead), we don’t really know how to respond because they’ve not brought their complaint to us, she said.
First lawsuit against Honhart
In a lawsuit filed March 8, 2011, John Doe J.D. alleged that Father Honhart sexually abused him at the age of 8 in 1982 and that Father Hugh Monahan sexually abused him at the age of 13 in 1987. John Doe also listed the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as a defendant. John Doe stated in court documents that he recovered his memory of the abuse when dealing with marital issues in counseling in 2009.
The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph filed a motion Aug. 11 to dismiss the case against the Diocese and argued that the statute of limitations bars all plaintiff’s claims and that John Doe failed to support his claims against the Diocese with facts.
Plaintiff’s Petition does not allege any fact of an intentional act by the Diocese showing it concealed the alleged event or that it prevented the Plaintiff from filing his March 8, 2011 claim, the Diocese stated in their motion. The Diocese further stated that there were no facts showing the Diocese ratified the alleged battery by Father Honhart and Father Monahan.
The Diocese argued that under Missouri agency law, the Diocese is not liable for the acts of Honhart and Monahan.
Reporting abuse
In July of 2011, the Diocese appointed an Ombudsman, Jenifer Valenti, to receive reports about inappropriate behavior or sexual misconduct and to notify law enforcement about possible misconduct. Valenti will also conduct investigations and report her findings to the Independent Review Board, which will make recommendations to Bishop Robert W. Finn about the continued suitability for ministry or employment of any person accused of wrongful conduct.
The Diocese also added a link on the front page of its website, http://www.diocese-kcsj.org/, to report abuse. Valenti is available at (816) 812-2500 or JeniferValenti@att.net.
-
