Archbishop Assigns Convicted Priest to ‘Monitored’ Place

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke has assigned Bryan M. Kuchar, a formerly active priest of the St. Louis Archdiocese scheduled for release from jail Aug. 30 after a sex-abuse conviction, to a temporary stay in a "secure and monitored residence" within the archdiocese.

The archdiocese continues its efforts to remove Kuchar from the priesthood through a laicization decree from the Vatican. By Church law, the archdiocese still has responsibility for Kuchar until there is a decision from the Vatican, archdiocesan officials said.

In a recent letter to Kuchar, Archbishop Burke reminded Kuchar of his vow of obedience to his bishop and ordered him not to perform any duties of a priest or to wear clerical garb after his release from jail. The archbishop also directed Kuchar not to speak to the media about his situation.

The archbishop’s recent letter to Kuchar told him that the archdiocese will not pay him a salary but will pay for health care until there is a decision from the Vatican on the laicization request.

Kuchar, 39, was sentenced to three years in the St. Louis County Jail in Clayton following his conviction by a jury in August 2003 on three counts of statutory sodomy.