Rev. Stephen J. Muth

Summary of Case: A Byzantine Catholic priest, Muth was ordained in Toronto, Ontario in 1982. He later served in several U.S. Roman Catholic dioceses as well as U.S. Byzantine Rite Eparchies. He was accused in 2006 of having sexually abused a 12 year-old boy in Wichita, KS in 1992. The samed accuser said Muth abused him again as an adult in 2004, and that he decided to come forward when he found Muth in bed with a young boy.

Ordained: 1982

1982

Eparchy of Toronto bishop was Isadore Borecky (1948-1998)

1991

Wichita bishop was Eugene John Gerber (1982-2001)

Wichita

• Muth was accused in a 2006 lawsuit of the sexual abuse of a 12 year-old boy in 1992. The accuser said he was in an altar boy training program at the time, and that the abuse occurred in a swimming pool.

1993

St. Nicholas in Chicago Eparchy for Ukranians bishop was Michael Wiwchar (1993-2003)

2000

Eparchy of Parma bishop was Basil Myron Schott, O.F.M. (1996-2002), followed by John Michael Kudrick (2002-)

Sugar Creek

• The man who accused Muth of sexually abusing him in 1992 as a boy also said he was abused as an adult by Muth in 2004, and that he decided to speak out when he caught Muth in bed with a young boy. The man said he had taken a job in 2004 as a groundskeeper at Muth's Kansas City churches.

2002

Kansas City-St. Joseph bishop was Raymond James Boland (1993-2005), succeeded by Robert William Finn
(2005-)

This assignment is per the Eparchy of Parma.

Muth began here Feb. 5, 2010, only to be relieved of this appointment Feb. 19, 2010 "for reasons of health".

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1983-2011)

• Priest Sued for Alleged Sexual Assault of Kansas City Man, By Matt Sedensky, The Associated Press, carried in Belleville News-Democrat, April 4, 2006,
• Priest Molested Boy, Suit Claims, By Joe Lambe, Kansas City Star [Kansas City MO], April 5, 2006
• Man Accuses Kansas Priest of Sexual Abuse, KAKE News [Kansas], April 6, 2006
• John Doe GS v. Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph et al, Cause No. 07-0011-CV-W-GAF, US Dist. Court, Western Dist. of Missouri 4.27.09
• Official Appointments February 2010, Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy
• St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Center website, parish history
• St. Mary's Ukranian Church website, parish history

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Muth's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on March 23, 2012