Tennessee Priest Named in Recently Published List of "Credibly Accused" Clerics - February 5, 2019
A
priest who worked in the Nashville Diocese from 1958-1971 was among
the clerics listed last week as "credibly accused" by the
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Fr. Anthony G. Stredny was a priest
in the Diocese of Nashville from 1958-1971, when he transferred to
the Texas Archdiocese. The list of "credibly accused"
clergy from the Nashville Diocese currently has 16 names, not
including Fr. Stredny, who was removed from ministry by the Houston
Archdiocese in 1993 and died in 2018.
Using the Official
Catholic Directory, SNAP has found that Fr. Stredny worked in the
following Tennessee parishes from 1958 to 1971:
1958: Holy
Ghost, Knoxville
1959: Holy Rosary, Memphis
1960: Holy Rosary,
Memphis
1961: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga
1962:
Blessed Sacrament, Harriman
1963: Blessed Sacrament,
Harriman
1964: Blessed Sacrament, Harriman
1965: Blessed
Sacrament, Harriman
1966: Blessed Sacrament, Memphis
1967:
Blessed Sacrament, Memphis
1968: Blessed Sacrament, Memphis
1969: On duty outside the diocese, St. Mary's Church,
Texas City TX
1970: On duty outside the diocese, St. Mary's
Church, Texas City TX
1970: On duty outside the diocese, 501
Tidwell Road, Houston TX*
*St. Charles Borromeo Church
"The
'on duty outside the diocese' label can be perfectly innocent,"
says Tennessee SNAP Leader Susan Vance, "but it can also be a
clue that the Church is employing the 'geographic solution' to deal
with a problem clergyman."
"Is Fr. Stredny's secret
canonical file in Nashville or Galveston-Houston?" Vance asks.
"There may be information of earlier allegations in it that were
never reported to police. Victims of clergy sexual abuse in both
states, and the public, should want to see those documents."Including
Fr. Stredny, 5 of the 17 Nashville clergy now deemed "credibly
accused" of child sexual abuse were sent across state lines to 7
different states:
Fr. Walter Emala: Maryland and
Pennsylvania
Fr. Paul Frederick Haas: Arkansas and Kentucky
Fr.
James A. Kemper: New Mexico
Fr. Joseph Reilly: Georgia
Fr.
Anthony G. Stredny: Texas
The image below was taken from the
website of the diocese of Galveston-Houston.
“We
need a statewide investigation of all three Tennessee dioceses to
uncover more information about the interstate trafficking of priests
who abuse children," Vance concluded.
"Investigate
the Dioceses of Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis to get the truth,"
urged David Brown, SNAP leader in Memphis. "What we see in
Nashville is also true in Memphis and Knoxville, and we are zeroing
in on getting that statewide investigation. However, with the
crossing of state lines, an FBI investigation is not out of the
question."
SNAP urges anyone who suffered, saw or
suspected clergy sexual abuse in Tennessee to make an immediate
report to local law enforcement, as well as sending the information
to the Tennessee Attorney General and prodding him to begin a
state-wide investigation. Victims, witnesses and whistle blowers can
reach out to SNAP, or groups like ours, for support as they come
forward.
