KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bishop Miege High School President Phil Baniewicz is on leave effective June 5 following concerns about his leadership abilities.
The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas confirmed the information in a statement Friday morning.
Banewicz has been the subject of past abuse allegations that he has never been charged for.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese told KSHB 41 News Reporter Sarah Plake that the executive committee of Bishop Miege High School’s Board of Trustees placed Baniewicz on administrative leave.
The decision was effective June 5, according to the Archdiocese spokesperson.
“Due to recent reports concerning his ability to oversee a safe environment for BMHS, a thorough investigation has been initiated,” the spokesperson said.
In March, KSHB 41 reported about the concerns of some parents, including Kelly Kincaid. You can watch that report in the video player below.
KSHB 41 recently spoke with a former student at Maur Hill-Mount Academy, who was in the boarding program at the school when Baniewicz was president there.
"I reached out to you and I had seen your other article and I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I knew I needed to do something," Taylor Kelsey said in an interview with KSHB 41.
At the end of May, Kelsey sent the Archdiocese and Bishop Miege administration letters outlining her concerns with Baniewicz as a leader, which KSHB 41 has reviewed.
Kelsey said Baniewicz brought her into his office for a one-on-one "purity talk" with no other adult in the room. She described a culture of shame and guilt that was mostly directed at the girl students.
"I don't think he's a bad guy. I think he has clouded judgment and I question his ability to run a school," Kelsey said. "Actually, I don't question it. I know there's no place for him there."
Kelsey was a full-time boarder and talked about safety concerns she experienced with the boarding program as a whole.
She said the students who live at the school as boarders come with more complex issues and "staff there do not have the training to take care of and manage these students and, at the bare minimum, keep them safe."
She described public shaming and restricting students to their dorm room as disciplinary tactics.
The Archdiocese did not confirm her complaints led to the decision to place Baniewicz on leave.
"Since this is a personnel issue, we can't comment on that. No further details can be provided until after the investigation is concluded," the Archdiocese spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also said they can't comment on who's conducting the investigation, how long it'll take, and any possible outcomes.
Maur Hill-Mount Academy and Miege administration responded to our request for comment Saturday morning, both deferring all questions to the Archdiocese.
KSHB 41 spoke to several other students who attended Maur Hill at the same time as Kelsey, who corroborated her experiences.
In 2005, Baniewicz was named in a civil lawsuit, accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy at St. Timothy's Parish in Mesa, Arizona in the 80s. Baniewicz was also accused of using his "position of power" within the church to keep the victim "quiet, so that he would not report the abuse to his parents."
The lawsuit was settled.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Sarah Plake
Baniewicz has never been charged with a crime related to that lawsuit. He and the Miege administration have adamantly maintained his innocence.
The lawsuit named other priests, including the excommunicated former Catholic Monsignor Dale Fushek. Fushek and Baniewicz were closely affiliated and together they founded the global Catholic youth ministry organization, Life Teen.
Prosecutors charged and reached plea deals with Fushek and the other former priest named in the lawsuit, Mark Lehman, in separate cases involving crimes against children.
David Clohessy, the volunteer director of the Missouri chapter of SNAP, a network of survivors of institutional sexual abuse, released a statement Friday, calling the decision "welcome" but said that Baniewicz should never have been hired.
"Kids are safest when abuse allegations and concerns are reported to secular authorities like police and prosecutors, not to church officials," Clohessy said. "We hope every person who may have seen, suspected or suffered any misconduct by Phil Baniewicz or anyone at Bishop Miege High School. We also hope Archbishop Shawn McKnight will be more forthcoming soon and will use church resources to aggressively prod anyone with suspicions or knowledge of wrongdoing to contact law enforcement."
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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