At Mass on Sunday, Jan. 13, the new senior associate pastor at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Lenexa, Father John Pilcher, stepped to the lectern to greet his new parishioners. He began with a joke about his dad the K-State fan, who had a lot to say when Pilcher was at one point sent to minister to the lost souls of Lawrence . Then, ka-pow: “Also, by way of introduction, I want to be totally transparent. If you Google my name, you will find that back in 2021, when I was pastor at Mater Dei” in Topeka, “ an allegation was brought up against me .”
Then Pilcher talked about how, after he got the all-clear, “I was able to engage in a sabbatical program in Rome that included a two-week trip to Egypt.” Mamma mia, right? I get that he was nervous, mostly looking down and occasionally rocking from side to side as he read his statement. But if only his Italian educational opportunity had included a course in how to talk to humans.
I have been hearing from parents of kids in that parish and its school ever since. Because though the DA in Topeka declined to file charges and the church-appointed review board did not substantiate the sex abuse claim against Pilcher, either, could they really trust him with their children? How come nobody asked them? Was there no parish without a school and a bunch of families where he could have been sent?