Missouri advocate alleging priest abuse gets $40,000

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Missouri advocate who says he was sexually abused by a priest as a teenager said Thursday he received $40,000 from the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City.

A spokesman for the diocese, Deacon Dan Joyce, confirmed Thursday the diocese provided $40,000 to David Clohessy, who serves as the national director of an advocacy group for victims of clergy sexual abuse.

The diocese did not provide further details about the out-of-court settlement.

Joyce said staff met with Clohessy earlier this year after he contacted them regarding his allegations of abuse by the Rev. John Whiteley.

Joyce said Bishop John Gaydos later wrote to Clohessy "to extend to him an apology for the abuse that he reported," and the diocese last month gave Clohessy money to "help him with his needs for healing."

Clohessy, of St. Louis, had sued the diocese in 1991 over the allegations Whiteley abused him at St. Pius X Parish in Moberly.

Clohessy's lawsuit was dismissed in 1993 because the statute of limitations had run out.