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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



 
 

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