Priest caught in prostitution sting apologizes to parish

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- A Roman Catholic priest who was caught in a Kansas City area prostitution sting apologized to parishioners at the first service he presided over since being reinstated as pastor of a St. Joseph church.

"I am guilty of causing this scandal, which I brought upon the church," the Rev. Vincent Rogers said during Mass on Saturday at St. James Catholic Church. "There is no one to blame but me -- regardless of my intentions. I was there. I placed myself near provocation of sin."

Rogers pleaded no contest to patronizing prostitution in early June. He was arrested at a Riverside, Mo., motel after agreeing to pay $100 to an undercover police officer in return for sexual services, according to court documents.

Rogers told Bishop Raymond Boland of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph that the incident followed telephone calls he had placed to arrange for a massage. Boland spent more than three months consulting area clergy and parishioners before reinstating Rogers as pastor of St. James Catholic Church on Wednesday.

Rogers apologized Saturday for "contributing to the dark cloud on the priesthood ... for putting the bishop in a difficult situation ... people in an embarrassing position."

"It may have weakened the faith of many believers, and it certainly put parents in an awkward position of explaining to their children," Rogers said.

The prostitution sting in which Rogers was arrested focused on escort services and involved 20 law enforcement agencies in Kansas and Missouri -- the largest local sting of its kind. About 100 people were arrested, according to Kansas City police, who coordinated the effort.