Diocese of Jefferson City announces cooperation with AG’s Office

Bishop Shawn McKnight held a media conference at the Diocese of Jefferson City’s offices Friday to announce his voluntary participation in Attorney General Josh Hawley’s investigation into clergy abuse.

“I want them to see the step I’m already taking to make sure that we have the proper protocols in place and that we have an adequate understanding of the state of our diocese as it is today,” McKnight said.

The press conference comes one day after he invited Attorney General Josh Hawley to look at sexual abuse records by clergy members.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office launched a review of the Archdiocese of St. Louis regarding allegations of sexual abuse by clergy members Thursday afternoon.

McKnight said he wanted to update the public on work to bring greater transparency and healing for the Diocese of Jefferson City, including his invitation to Attorney General Josh Hawley to review the Diocese’s files.

Hawley’s investigation follows a scathing Pennsylvania grand jury report that accused hundreds of priests of committing sexual crimes against hundreds, possibly thousands of children.

“I am not concerned about the destruction of the church,” McKnight said. “I am concerned about the salvation of individual souls, and that is what is motivating me.”

One clergy member named in the Pennsylvania grand jury report did have a connection to mid-Missouri. John “Jack” Pender was assigned to the parishes of St. Robert and St. Cornelius in Crocker during the 1970s and 1980s.

Furthermore, in 2005, The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests reported that “at two parishes, church officials announced during masses that child sexual abuse allegations have been made against Fr. John Degnan.”

There are hotlines available for anyone who is aware of any abuse:

-The Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline: 1-800-392-3738

-The Missouri Adault Abuse and Neglect Hotline: 1-800-392-0210