A former priest with a history of sexual abuse against minors has been indicted by a Washington County grand jury for events that reportedly occurred 35 years ago.
Father Joseph Irvin Mouser, 86, 515 Nerinx Road, Nerinx, was indicted on two counts of first-degree sodomy of a minor-victim younger than 12, a Class A felony; two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor-victim younger than 12, a Class C felony; and two counts of second-degree sodomy of a child younger than 14, a Class C felony.
The indictment noted that these incidents happened on or about March 8, 1989, through March 7, 1991, in Washington County.
“Father Mouser ended any ministry several decades ago and resides in a nursing home,” said Brian Reynolds, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Louisville. “We have not heard anything about the indictment and cannot comment on this matter at this time.”
This isn’t the first time Mouser has been in trouble. Accusations against him date back to the late 1960s and early ’70s. According to five lawsuits brought against him, Mouser abused four victims between 1968 and 1972 at St. Helen’s parish in Barren County and the fifth while he was at St. Francis of Assisi in Jefferson County in 1974.
One lawsuit alleged he “forcibly sexually molested, abused, battered and assaulted” a victim at St. Helen’s in 1968. Others allege forced oral sex, groping and fondling, among other actions.
Victims reported receiving gifts from Mouser in exchange for sexual favors.
Mouser was placed on leave in May 2002. A month later, the five men filed the separate civil suits. Those lawsuits were settled in 2003, and the Review Board deemed the allegations credible in June 2004.
In October 2005, the Vatican ordered Mouser to “live a life of prayer and penance.” Then-Archbishop Thomas Kelly of Louisville, who died in 2011, sent Mouser to live in a private residence on the property of the Loretto Motherhouse in Nernix, where he was explicitly directed not to serve in active ministry. But at the request of the sisters, he began offering Mass to them privately, which Kelly permitted and the Holy See approved.
According to a March 24, 2020, article in the National Catholic Reporter, Reynolds said “Father Mouser was never appointed as the chaplain for the Sisters of Loretto.” Despite these claims, the article continued, Loretto identified Mouser as their chaplain in newsletters and magazines, even featuring him in photos on their website and annual reports.
Reynolds told the National Catholic Reporter that the archdiocese was unaware of the priest’s expanded role. Before moving permanently to the Motherhouse, Mouser was appointed as chaplain twice by the archdiocese— from May 1993 to July 1996 and July 1996 to May 2002.
The NCR reported Kelly was aware of the allegations against Mouser before the appointment in 2002, and in 1993, Kelly had received “credible proof that Mouser was an abuser.”
According to BishopAccountability.org, a group that monitors documents related to the sex abuse crisis in the church, in January 2020, Mouser was discovered “working as a chaplain for the Sisters of Loretto in KY, despite the Vatican’s directive that he no longer wear clerical garb, celebrate mass publicly, administer sacraments or present himself publicly as a priest.”
After publicity in February 2020, the website reports, the Sisters said they were going to remove him.
“The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ordered Mouser to live a life of prayer and penance. And it’s the archdiocese’s responsibility to make sure that happens. He was not supposed to be in ministry, he was not supposed to be wearing clerical garb. So, I believe, it’s the archdiocese’s failure here,” said Terence McKiernan, co-founder of BishopAccountability.org.
Mouser’s bond was set at $5,000 full cash with no violations of the law, no use of drugs or alcohol, and no contact with the complaining witness.
https://eu.courier-journal.com/story/ne ... 427742007/
A Catholic priest who formerly worked in Louisville and was confirmed to have molested five boys by the local Archdiocese in 2005 is facing new charges.
Joseph Mouser, 86, was arrested by Marion County Sheriff's Department deputies Thursday morning on charges of first- and second-degree sodomy involving a child 12 or younger and first-degree child sexual abuse for the alleged occurrences that happened between 1989 and 1993.
Archdiocese records show that Mouser, one of 48 archdiocese priests and members of religious orders credibly accused of child sexual abuse, abused four boys when he was assigned to St. Helen Catholic Church from 1968 to 1972 and a fifth when he was at St. Francis of Assisi from 1973 to 1979. He was not charged criminally.
Mouser was previously ordered by the Vatican to stop functioning as a priest and asked to live a life of "prayer and penance" by the Holy See, meaning he could no longer wear clerical garb, celebrate Mass publicly, administer the sacraments or present himself publicly as a priest.
The Courier Journal confirmed he was continuing his priestly responsibilities at the Sisters of Loretto, which is south of Bardstown in Marion County, as a chaplain after being removed from ministry by the Archdiocese in 2002.
