Rev. Thomas M. Reardon-Assignment

Rev. Thomas M. Reardon

Ordained: 1967

A priest of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, Reardon has been named in more than 20 lawsuits as having sexually abused boys. The abuse is said to have occurred throughout his career as a priest, and typically included plying boys with alcohol and marijuana. Two other priests were named as having participated with Reardon in abuse of boys. Many incidents were reported to have taken place at a lake home and in church facilities. Reardon had several chancery positions, including with the Catholic Youth Organization. Reardon left the priesthood in 1989 and went on to become a substance abuse counselor. The diocese said in Nov. 2011 that Reardon was in the process of laicization.

Start	Stop	Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1967 Kansas City-St. Joseph Bishop was Charles Herman Helmsing (1962-1977)	1971	St. Elizabeth's	Kansas City • Named in a 2004 lawsuit as having sexually abused boys beginning in the 1960s and throughout his three decades as a priest. Two other priests, Msgr. Thomas J. O'Brien and Bishop Joseph Hart, were accused along with him. There were periods of time when the priests worked together. There were nine plaintiffs. The abuse is said to have occurred at a Lake Viking home bought by O'Brien in 1971, and in church facilities. The priests are said to have plied the boys with alcohol and marijuana, and exposed them to pornography. • Sued in 2007 by a man alleging sexual abuse by Reardon in 1968 in St. Elizabeth's rectory. The man says he was 12 years old at the time. • A man filed suit in 2008 claiming that Reardon (and O'Brien) sexually abused him beginning when he was 7 years old, in the St. Elizabeth's rectory. The man said his mother was in another room receiving marriage counseling when the abuse started. • A Feb. 2011 lawsuit claimed that Reardon made advances on an 11 year-old boy, along with fellow priest Michael Tierney, while O'Brien exposed himself and sexually abused the boy. • In an April 2011 lawsuit a man claimed Reardon molested him beginning when he was 9 years old, from 1969-1972. The boy was from Visitation parish. • In Aug. 2011 a man accused Reardon in a lawsuit of having sexually abused him when he was a St. Elizabeth middle-school student in the late 1960s.	MO	3/3, 3/4	Parish had a school with 688-611 students. O'Brien has been accused of sexually abusing boys in dozens of lawsuits. Hart went on to become bishop of Cheyenne, WY. He has been accused of sexually abusing at least five boys. Tierney has been accused in a number of lawsuits of having sexually abused boys.
1971	1973	St. John Francis Regis	Kansas City • Another 2004 lawsuit named Reardon and O'Brien as having molested a boy at the lake house and church rectories, between 1970-1975. • In a 2008 lawsuit Reardon is accused of sexually abusing yet another boy, age 11 or 12, in 1981 or 1982 at St. Regis School.	MO	4/4	Parish had a school with 400 students.
1973	1977	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception	Kansas City • In a 2008 lawsuit a man accused Reardon and O'Brien of touching his leg suggestively while the man was fixing a ceiling fan in the Lake Viking home. The man would have been about 19 years old at the time. The priests blamed their actions on drinking, he said.	MO	3/8, 2/7, 2/4	The Cathedral had a school (number of students not indicated).
1977 Helmsing was replaced as bishop by John Joseph Sullivan (1977-1993)	1978	Church of Santa Fe	Buckner	MO	1/1
1978	1981	St. Gabriel Archangel	Kansas City • In a 2005 lawsuit Reardon was accused of having sexually abused a 16 year old boy in 1980 in the rectory of St. Gabriel's. • Accused in a 2007 lawsuit by a man who said Reardon abused him at St. Gabriel's, when the man was in fifth to eighth grades.	MO	1/2, 1/3	Parish had a school with 173-183 students.
		Camp Little Flower	Raytown	MO	administrator
		Catholic Youth Organization	Kansas City	MO
		Director of Department of Catholic Laity	Kansas City	MO
1978	1981	Dean of North Suburban Deanery	Kansas City	MO
1979	1981	President of Senate of Priests	Kansas City	MO
1985	1988	Dean of Southeast Deanery	Kansas City	MO
1981	1989	St. John Francis Regis	Kansas City • In a Nov. 2001 lawsuit Reardon was accused of sexually abusing a boy from 1981-1984, when the boy was 9 to 12 years old. The boy is said to have also been abused by Revs. Thomas O'Brien and Mark Honhart, and to have been given alcohol and marijuana. The abuse is said to have occurred at Nativity of the BVM parish, and at Lake Viking.	MO	1/3, 1/2	Reardon is not indexed in the Directories after 1989. At least three men have accused Honhart of having sexually abused them as boys.
1989	2011		Kansas City • A plaintiff in a 2004 lawsuit alleging abuse by Reardon as a boy, said he was referred to Reardon in 1993 as an adult for drug counseling, and Reardon again made sexual advances toward him.	MO		Reardon left the priesthood in 1989 and became a substance abuse counselor. He denied abusing children. In a Nov. 2011 statement, the diocese said that Reardon was in the process of laicization.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1968-1989).

• Lawsuit Accuses Three Priests of Sexual Abuse, By Kevin Murphy and Judy Thomas, Kansas City Star, January 22, 2004
• More Accusations against Priests, By Dan Curry, The Examiner [Missouri] , January 22, 2004
• Former Wyo Bishop Sued for Sex Abuse, By Tom Morton , Casper Star-Tribune [Cheyenne WO] , January 24, 2004
• Wyoming Bishop, Missouri Priests Named in Abuse Suit, By Dennis Coday, National Catholic Reporter, February 6, 2004
• Ex-Priest Relieved As Drug Counsel, By Kevin Murphy, Kansas City Star, February 19, 2004
• Lawsuit Accuses 2 Priests of Pressuring Sex Abuse Victim, TheKansasCityChannel.com [Kansas City MO], June 1, 2004
• Seventh Lawsuit since Early 2004, Former Priest Faces New Molestation Allegation, By Kevin Murphy, Kansas City Star, July 7, 2005
• Diocese Settles Sexual Abuse Lawsuit, By Joe Lambe, Kansas City Star, April 11, 2007
• Lawsuits Alleging Abuse Are Nearer to Trial, By Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, November 24, 2007
• Two Men Allege Molestation in Lawsuit against Former Priest, Catholic Diocese, By Joe Lambe, Kansas City Star, December 20, 2007
• Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph Pays $45,000 Settlement, By Joe Lambe, The Kansas City Star, January 16, 2008
• John Doe Lawsuits Allege Sexual Abuse by Priests Years Ago, By Joe Lambe, Kansas City Star, February 25, 2008
• Statement of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph, My Fox Kansas City, June 19, 2008
• New Lawsuits Filed against Clergy, By Mark Morris, Kansas City Star, June 19, 2008
• New Lawsuits Accuse Priests of Abuse, By Mark Morris, Kansas City Star, June 26, 2008
• Tentative Settlement Reached in KC Priest Abuse Cases, By Mark Morris, Kansas City Star, August 20, 2008
• Priest Abuse Settlement to Include Apologies, By Kevin Murphy, Kansas City Star, August 23, 2008
• Yet Another Lawsuit Alleging Child Abuse Filed against Kansas City Priests, By Peter Rugg, February 17, 2011
• Group Urges Grand Jury Inquiry into Priest Sex Crimes, Cover-Ups, By Michael Mansur and Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star
April 27, 2011
• Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Abuse at Independence Catholic Church, By Jeff Martin, The Examiner, September 2, 2011
• Two Lawsuits Allege Abuse by Priests, By Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, October 21, 2011
• Statements from the Diocese and SNAP, Fox 4, November 1, 2011
• Springfield Clergy Abuse Victim Speaks Out, By Barbara Dorris, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, November 30, 2011

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 & 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 Reardon'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 Dec. 16, 2011