The St. Louis Archdiocese has learned of a civil lawsuit filed against the archdiocese alleging wrongful sexual conduct by Father Louis Kertz, a deceased archdiocesan priest.

Father Kertz was ordained in 1948 and died in 1985.His parish assignments from ordination to retirement included: 1948, St. Liborius; 1949, Our Lady of Sorrows; 1954, U.S. Air Force; 1957, St. Aloysius Gonzaga; 1963, St. Ferdinand, Florissant; 1964, Holy Guardian Angels; 1966, Cure of Ars, Shrewsbury; 1975, All Saints, St. Peters; 1981, Immaculate Conception, Flat River.

The archdiocese urges any person who has an allegation involving Father Kertz to contact Deacon Phil Hengen of the Office of Child and Youth Protection of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, at (314) 792-7704 or the civil authorities.

Also, the archdiocese issued a statement about a reported lawsuit regarding James Thiel, formerly a Redemptorist priest assigned to St. Alphonsus Liguori (Rock) Church in St. Louis more than 20 years ago. The statement said the archdiocese had been told by the Redemptorists that Thiel had been dismissed from the order. It asks that inquiries about him be directed to the Resurrectionists’ headquarters in Denver, (303) 370-0035.