St. Louis Bishop tries to send former priest back to Davenport

A bishop in St. Louis is trying to send a priest back to Davenport. The reverend William Wiebler served in 7 parishes over the years. He’s admitted sexually abusing children during that time. But criminal charges were never filed against the priest, and all the abuse cases were so long ago they’re outside the statute of limitations. Bishop William Franklin of Davenport almost a year ago asked the Vatican to laicize, or defrock, five priests including Wiebler, and asked him to go to a treatment center in Missouri. But he was there of his own free will and when he left the program last September nobody could stop him. Wiebler’s rented an apartment in St. Louis two blocks from a grade school, and about a quarter-mile from a preschool. The archbishop of St. Louis wants him out of town, especially now that 12 people have filed new charges against Wiebler. He doesn’t have any authority over the retired priest, and is asking Bishop Franklin to order Wiebler back to the Quad Cities…but so far has received no response.