By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – The sister of an accused child molester is calling on St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke to make a formal apology for the abuse.
Last December, the archdiocese settled a lawsuit against Father Norman Christian, who was accused of molesting victim Tim Fischer in 1972. The settlement required Archbishop Burke to write Fischer a letter of apology.
But Carol Kuhnert, the priest's sister, says that letter has yet to come and she wants Burke to express more compassion for victims.
"You would think he would be reaching out and protecting his flock, and I don't see him doing that," Kuhnert said. "He protects his priests very well, but he does not reach out to his priests' victims."
Church officials say an administrative snag is holding up the court-ordered apology.
Burke spokesman Jamie Allman says the archdiocese just needs a mailing address.
"The archbishop has had this letter ready to go for two months now, but Mr. Fischer's attorneys and the attorneys for SNAP simply haven't bothered to give us Mr. Fischer's address," Allman said.
He says in the case of credible allegations of abuse involving minors, the archdiocese always initiates contact with civil authorities.