A Catholic priest from Gibraltar who exposed and fondled himself in
front of a waitress is still working in several parishes in metro
Detroit, prompting outrage Monday from a support group for victims of
priest abuse.
The Rev. Roger Knapp, formerly a pastor at St.
Victor Catholic Church in Gibraltar, pleaded guilty in June 2009 to
being a disorderly person after police arrested him for exposing himself
to a waitress at a Woodhaven restaurant in March 2009.
He was sentenced
to nine months of probation and $595 in fines.
But Knapp still "helps out in a number of parishes providing mass
coverage," Ned McGrath, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Detroit, said
Monday.
"That's shocking," said Matt Jatczak, director of the
Detroit chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It
puts kids in danger."
On Monday, Jatczak sent a letter to Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron
asking that he be open and transparent about priests with abuse
problems.
Last week, a Catholic priest formerly in metro Detroit, the
Rev. Bernard Chojnacki, was arrested on charges of exposing himself to
an undercover officer in Florida.
McGrath said there is no evidence the
priest committed any abuse while in metro Detroit.