Rest In Peace: Fr. Kenneth Kaucheck
It wouldn't seem like much to ask: Rev. Kenneth Kaucheck just wanted justice and to clear his name.
In 2009, a woman came forward claiming that Fr. Kaucheck had sexually abused her as a teen in the 1970s. And even though prosecutors declined to press charges against him after they determined that the woman was of legal consent at the time, the Archdiocese of Detroit banned him from public ministry.
Fr. Kaucheck, however, proclaimed his innocence and took his battle all the way to the Vatican. Finally, the Vatican acted and removed all restrictions on him. Unfortunately, Fr. Kaucheck was in his final days of battling cancer when he received news of his victory only days before he passed away last month on July 18 at age 77.
We received word of Fr. Kaucheck from a reader who wrote:
"While he was in hospice care at the end of his life, the Archdiocese of Detroit called him on speaker phone and informed him that he was cleared of all allegations and was now 'unrestricted' in his ministry. He was waiting for that, and died with some measure of peace.
"At his funeral today, which packed the church, many people who knew him well said that he'd decided to live not in anger over what happened but in forgiveness. May God rest his soul."
Fr. Kaucheck was indeed a fighter. As we reported back in 2017, Kaucheck sued SNAP for defamation after its disgraced director David Clohessy released one of his nutty "press releases" falsely smearing Kaucheck. Remarkably, SNAP removed the press release from its site after Kaucheck sued. We are unaware of any other time in SNAP's history that it has done this despite defaming countless demonstrably innocent priests over the years.
Eternal rest grant unto Fr. Kenneth, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.
————————————
Want to learn about the rampancy of false accusations against priests?:
- "The Great Shakedown Keeps A-Rollin': Phony Claims Continue at Epic Pace, Here Are The Facts" (January 2024)
- The Greatest Fraud Never Told: False Accusations, Phony Grand Jury Reports, and the Assault on the Catholic Church (Amazon.com)
Thank you for info. RIP Father. I always wonder what happened to the accuser. God bless.
What a long time to wait for vindication. God bless him for his integrity and tenancity. May he give hope to other falsely accused persons.
Another priest defamed, So sad.
To the themediareport.com owner, Keep the good content coming!
Rev. Innocent was counseling the teen. Counselors like therapists should have no sexual contact with the person they are counseling. Sex abuse is sex abuse no matter if the teen was of age of consent or not. Was nice to see there are priests left that actually are attracted to the right sex, unlike the rest of them that rape young boys. servant of Christ