By Cindy Kranz
Enquirer staff writer

FINNEYTOWN - St. Vivian parishioners are petitioning the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to remove their parish priest, claiming he repeatedly violates the Archdiocesan Decree on Child Protection by verbally abusing children.

In last Sunday's bulletin, the Rev. John Kroeger informed the parish that he has offered to resign. That decision, however, ultimately rests with Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk.

The situation came to a head at confirmation practice May 24 when parishioners say Kroeger verbally belittled their children after they approached him about why he had not renewed the contract of their music teacher, Mary Beth Hoagland-Khamis.

Kroeger called 911 when a group of parents confronted him about why their children were in tears. Since then, some parishioners and children have met with or written the archdiocese, describing their encounters with Kroeger.

Last week, a group of parish members sent letters to all 1,024 parish households to outline their concerns. Nineteen people, representing 10 parish households, signed the letter, including Parish Pastoral Council President John Hadden. They wrote:

"On several occasions, Fr. Kroeger has used abusive language. In particular, he has repeatedly abused children verbally in direct violation of basic Christian principles and the Archdiocesan Decree on Child Protection. This abuse has included belittling, name calling, comments on physical attributes, profanity and threats of physical harm.

"At times he has extended this to physically shoving an adult and children on and around the altar. When approached in attempts to resolve these issues, he has invoked his authority to justify his actions and generally failed to respond to the concerns of those affected." Kroeger, 58, is on vacation and not available for comment, but he has not responded to multiple requests for interviews previously.

This is the second parish in six months that has dealt with controversy over its priest. Last November, Nativity parishioners demanded that their principal be reinstated after the priest fired him. Bob Herring was reinstated about a month later, and Father Marc Sherlock asked to be transferred.

While Nativity parents picketed at the archdiocese and the parish, drawing massive media coverage, St. Vivian parishioners have tried to work quietly with the archdiocese outside of the media glare.

"The use of the media is not something we're choosing to do," Hadden said. "The archdiocese is following the process that's in place, and we're comfortable with how the process is working."

The parishioners asked the archdiocese to remove Kroeger by June 15. Instead, Hadden received a letter dated June 11 from Pilarczyk, telling him that he has required Kroeger to undergo psychological therapy.

Pilarczyk also said in the letter that the archdiocese continues to investigate the allegations, and it will take some time before work is completed. "This is something we take very seriously," said Dan Andriacco, spokesman for the archdiocese.

Complaints about Kroeger are being investigated by a seven-person Archdiocesan Review Board. A majority of the board is made up of non-archdiocesan employees who are professionally trained in the area of child abuse.

The board will decide whether the Decree on Child Protection has been violated and recommend steps the archdiocese can take to bring about some reconciliation in the parish.

"We have received a lot of communications from people who are supportive of Father Kroeger, as well," Andriacco said. "We have probably received many more letters from people who are unhappy. No matter what happens, there are going to be people who are not happy, and there's going to be a need for some healing."

Meanwhile, some petitions asking for Kroeger's removal were hand-delivered to the archdiocese last week.

Parish members say St. Vivian's is hemorrhaging members, contributions are down, Eucharistic ministers are quitting and altar servers are dropping out.

In their letter to the parish, the concerned members acknowledged Kroeger's strengths.

"Fr. Kroeger has devoted his life to Christ in the ministry of the Church. He is a gifted homilist. He is a caring bereavement minister. He is a knowledgeable teacher. He generously administers to the sick. He is a liturgical scholar. These gifts have been witnessed and appreciated by many St. Vivian parishioners," the letter said.

Some parishioners have suggested that Kroeger be placed in roles where he could best use those gifts, but not in a parish setting.

E-mail ckranz@enquirer.com