The whereabouts of two living credibly accused priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport now is public in light of the diocese’s recent filing of its last required annual report to its bankruptcy court. Both priests each are “leading a life of prayer and penance” and are given no assignments in their communities, diocese spokesman Deacon David Montgomery said. Gerald Stouvenal lives at the diocese’s chancery at 780 W. Central Park Ave., Davenport, and Francis Bass lives in a nursing home in Iowa City.
But whether any discipline action ever was brought against ‘now-retired‘ Bishop Lawrence Soens, who’s also accused of abuse, or his whereabouts are still being kept secret. “Any discipline against (Soens) has been kept secret,” attorney Craig Levien, who has represented local victims of clergy abuse, said Monday. “The scandal wasn’t just the abuse of children by priests, it was the coverup.” Soens has not been defrocked. “There’s a double standard that’s applied to priests versus a bishop,” Levien said.
Previously, Levien had requested the release of “all communications from Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, about the decision not to defrock credibly accused perpetrators.” Montgomery responded to that request Monday, saying a decision made by the Vatican “is final, cannot be changed” and that communication that goes on at the Vatican is “confidential.” [SOURCE]
The Ragged Wagon 