Archbishop of Omaha denies allegations of sexual abuse

Washington, DC Newsroom, July 26, 2024 / 3:40 p.m.

Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha has categorically denied allegations that he sexually abused two minors several decades ago while serving as dean of education at St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in Missouri.

Lucas is one of several dozen priests, nuns and laypeople accused of sexually abusing minors in a series of five separate lawsuits filed Wednesday by 27 anonymous plaintiffs.

The abuse is said to have spanned several decades, with some of the alleged crimes reportedly committed as recently as 2015.

The lawsuit, which names Lucas, was filed in St. Louis District Court and alleges that Lucas, while a priest, forced a 16-year-old boy named “DS” and another student to perform sexual acts with him at the St. Louis school.

The lawsuit alleges that Lucas met DS at the school in 1988 and that the now-Archbishop of Omaha began sexually abusing the victim on a regular basis when he was in the eleventh grade, even manipulating her on at least one occasion into performing a sexual act in exchange for better grades.

In a statement to CNA on Friday, Lucas strongly denied the allegations.

“I firmly deny the accusation made by an anonymous person. I have never had sexual contact with another person,” the prelate said.

The archbishop said he had submitted the matter to the Vatican’s apostolic nuncio to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, “for consultation.”

The five lawsuits were filed within 24 hours in five different Missouri counties under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

With the lawsuits, the alleged abusers from the Archdiocese of St. Louis and its head, Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski, are demanding compensation.

Rozanski, who has been head of the diocese since 2020, is not accused of sexual abuse, although the indictment alleges that Rozanski knowingly covered up sexual abuse of minors for “several decades.”

According to David Clohessy, a spokesman for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), ten of the defendants named in the indictments are still alive.

Clohessy said the testimony in the lawsuits would encourage others to come forward and would help heal victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

“One of the most devastating consequences of childhood sexual abuse is the feeling of utter helplessness. So if victims can speak up and take action and expose the perpetrators, it helps them feel like they are making progress and turning their pain into something that can help others,” he said.

The anonymous plaintiffs in the proceedings are represented by lawyers from the law firms Bailey & Glasser, Levy Konigsberg and Randles Mata.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNA.

(The story continues below)

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