National Outreach Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests

We're grateful that Fr. Daniel Schulte has been charged but disappointed again that a priest's alleged sexual misconduct is exposed by law enforcement, not by church officials, who kept Schulte's crime secret for at least a year.

We hope that St. Louis Catholic officials will 'come clean' about Schulte's transfer here and disclose what he's been doing in St. Louis. We hope that no local child has been hurt by Schulte. If he did assault any kids here, it will likely be years or decades before we know it.

Dozens and dozens of proven or admitted sex offending Catholic clerics are still quietly being imported into St. Louis from across the country. This secrecy and recklessness puts kids needlessly at risk. At least three clerics from elsewhere came here allegedly for treatment and molested St. Louis children. As a result, every day our kids are still vulnerable. Yet Archbishop Burke refuses to consider or discuss our proposed moratorium on this potentially dangerous practice. We hope he'll reconsider.

According to the Official Catholic Directory, among other places, Fr. Schulte worked and/or lived include:

• 1989-1990 at St. Vincent DePaul parish in Perryville, MO
• 1991-1996 at St. Vincent DePaul parish, 1010 W. Webster Ave. in Chicago
• 1997 in Houston, TX
• 2000-2002 at St. Vincent DePaul parish in Cape Girardeau, MO
• 2004 at the Lazarist Residence, 13245 Tesson Ferry Rd. in St. Louis.
• He was ordained in 1987.

CONTACT
David Clohessy of St. Louis, SNAP National Director (314) 566-9790 cell
Barbara Blaine of Chicago, SNAP Founder and President (312) 399 4747 cell

http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/politics/14152034.htm

Posted on Tue, Mar. 21, 2006

Priest, formerly of Chicago area, charged with child porn

MIKE ROBINSON, Associated Press

CHICAGO - A Roman Catholic priest formerly based in the Chicago area was charged by federal prosecutors Tuesday with possession of child pornography.

The Rev. Daniel Schulte, 53, of St. Louis was accused in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court with having an unspecified number of sexual images of children on the hard drive of his computer.

Prosecutors said there were no allegations that the Vincentian priest had engaged in sexual activity with children. They said he would be arraigned at an unspecified later time.

Defense attorney Patrick J. Cotter declined to comment on the case.

The Rev. Raymond Van Dorpe, assistant provincial of the Vincentian order, issued a statement saying that "child pornography in whatever form it takes is intrinsically evil."

The statement said that a problem involving Schulte came to the order's attention in March 2005. It said the provincial superior "immediately removed Father Schulte from active ministry and placed him on precautionary administrative leave."

"Father Schulte was moved to St. Louis where he could be supervised and where his access to the Internet could be supervised," the statement said.

It also said authorities were notified of the situation and "in the intervening months, the province, has fully cooperated with all law enforcement agencies and will continue to do so."

"The province denounces all forms of sexual misconduct by its members," the statement said.

Exactly where Schulte had been assigned in the Chicago area was not learned immediately. Neither Roman Catholic Archdiocese spokesman Jim Dwyer nor a local contact for the Vincentians, Brother Timothy Opferman, were reached immediately. Message were left for them.