Salina Diocese Statement 8/20/2019
Aug. 20, 2019
Salina, Kan. — Today, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) organized protests across the state of Kansas, including one in Manhattan. A statement dated Aug. 20 on the group’s website claims the Salina Diocese failed to include the names of three priests when the report of substantiated cases of clergy abuse of minors was released by the diocese in March.
SNAP alleges the Salina Diocese omitted the following names: diocesan priest Father Donald McCarthy, who died in 2017, and two priests from the Capuchin Province of St. Conrad, based in Denver: Capuchin Father Ronald Gilardi and Father Thaddeus Posey.
The Capuchin Province released a list of substantiated allegations at the same time the Salina Diocese released its list. Both Father Gilardi and Father Posey were mentioned in the Capuchin list when it was released in March.
The Salina Diocese has been cooperating with the Kansas Bureau of Investigations (KBI). The diocese fully cooperated with law enforcement when Father McCarthy was tried in court of law in Texas in 2007. The court did not find Father McCarthy guilty of the accusation. The Salina Diocesan Lay Review Board also reviewed the allegation from Texas. The Lay Review Board found the allegations to be not substantiated. Because the Lay Review Board was not able to substantiate the allegation, Father McCarthy’s name was not included on the list of credibly accused clergy.
The diocese provided the files of all allegations of clergy abuse, including the allegation against Father McCarthy to the KBI. If the KBI finds the allegation credible, they will turn it over to the prosecuting attorney in Texas, where the allegations were made.
The Lay Review Board of the Salina Diocese continues to evaluate allegations, and cooperate with the KBI as new allegations are made. When an allegation is proven to be substantiated, the diocese will add the name of the clergy member to its list, which can be found at: https://salinadiocese.org/home/clergy-abuse.
Any allegation of the abuse of a minor, may be reported to the Kansas Protection Report Center (1-800-922-5330), the KBI Crime Hotline (1-800-KSCRIME) or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
