Joseph Hubert Hart (September 26, 1931 – August 23, 2023) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming from 1978 to 2001 and as auxiliary bishop of the same diocese from 1976 to 1978. Hart faced several accusations of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Cheyenne, but he was ultimately exonerated by the Vatican and prosecutors in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

declined to press charges. However, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph did settle a lawsuit that named Hart and 12 other individuals for sexual abuse in that diocese. The

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

in Rome reprimanded Hart for his lack of good judgement.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Hart was born on September 26, 1931, to Hubert and Kathryn (née Muser) Hart in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. His brother James became a priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, and his sister Rosemary served as human resources director for the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

. Hart attended St. Peter's Grade School (1936–1944) and Bishop Hogan High School (1944–1948), both in Kansas City, Missouri. He then studied at

Rockhurst College Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

in Kansas City, Missouri, and St. Meinrad Seminary in

Saint Meinrad, Indiana Saint Meinrad is a census-designated place (CDP) in Harrison Township, Spencer County, Indiana, United States. Located along the Anderson River, it is home to the St. Meinrad Archabbey. Interstate 64 runs near the CDP, and it is situated abou ...

Priesthood

Hart was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest by Bishop

John Cody John Patrick Cody (December 24, 1907 – April 25, 1982) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kansas City–Saint Joseph (1956–1961), Archbishop of New Orleans (1964–1965), and Archbishop of Chicago (1965–1982). He wa ...

for the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph on May 1, 1956. After his ordination, Hart served as

assistant pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicis ...

at Guardian Angels Parish (1956–1962) and Visitation Parish (1962–1966), both in Kansas City, Missouri. Hart worked as vice-

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the diocese from 1964 to 1969, during which time he also assisted at St. Therese Parish (1966–1968) and St. James Parish (1968–1969), both in Kansas City. From 1969 to 1976, Hart served as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. John Francis Regis Parish in Kansas City. At the same time, he also taught at Bishop Lillis High School, Loretto Academy, and St. Pius X High School, all in Kansas City.

Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Cheyenne

On July 1, 1976,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

appointed Hart as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne and titular bishop of Thimida Regia. He was consecrated on August 31, 1976, by Bishop

Hubert Newell Hubert Michael Newell (February 16, 1904 – September 8, 1987) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Cheyenne from 1951 to 1978. Biography Early life Hubert Newell was born on February 16, 1904, in ...

, with Bishops Charles Helmsing and Michael McAuliffe serving as co-consecrators. As an auxiliary bishop, Hart served as

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

and pastor of St. Patrick Parish in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the List of municipalities in Wyoming, second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of th ...

. On April 25, 1978, Paul VI named Hart as the sixth bishop of Cheyenne. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Cheyenne on June 12, 1978. Hart selected as his episcopal motto: ''"Dominus Pars."'' During his tenure as bishop, Hart established the annual Bishop's Appeal and ordained 25 priests for the diocese. He was an active member of the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

(USCCB) and served as chairman of the bishops of Conference Region XIII for six years. In 1989 and 1992, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph received accusations that Hart had

sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is r ...

young boys in the early 1970s, when he was serving as a priest in that diocese. Hart volunteered to go to an Arizona residential facility for a

psychiatric evaluation Psychological evaluation is a method to assess an individual's behavior, personality, cognitive abilities, and several other domains. A common reason for a psychological evaluation is to identify psychological factors that may be inhibiting ''a p ...

, which later concluded that Hart "does not appear to be a threat to himself or others on any level." The diocese reported the allegations to the

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

and the USCCB, but did not reveal them publicly until January 2002. Hart "categorically and completely" denied the allegations, which he described as "baseless" and sources of "great pain... ndembarrassment."

Retirement and legacy

On September 26, 2001, Hart submitted his letter of resignation as Bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne to

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. In 2002, Hart was accused of repeatedly coercing a 14-year-old boy to expose himself in 1977, when Hart was auxiliary bishop in Cheyenne. Hart was cleared of those charges in July 2002. However, it was later determined that the original investigation was flawed; it was re-opened and more accusers came forward. Hart's successor, Bishop

David Ricken David Laurin Ricken (born November 9, 1952) is an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who has served as the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Bishop of Green Bay since 2008. He previously served as Roman Catholic ...

, was also implicated for his role in defending, and possibly also protecting, Hart during this criminal investigation. In 2004, Hart was named in a civil

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

alleging that he sexually abused three children while serving in Kansas City and Cheyenne. In 2005, a fifth person alleged abuse by Hart in 1973 or 1974, when the man was a 12-year-old parishioner at St. John Francis Regis Parish. In August 2008, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph approved a $10 million

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

to a group of 47 victims who cited Hart among 12 other clergymen responsible for their abuse. In 2017, Bishop

Steven Biegler Steven Robert Biegler (born March 22, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne in Wyoming in 2017. Biography Early life Steven Biegler was born on March 22, 1959, in Mobridge, ...

, bishop of Cheyenne, announced an investigation of Hart. In April 2018, the

Cheyenne Police Department The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also ...

started a criminal investigation into Hart. In August 2019, the police recommended that criminal charges be filed against Hart. Four more people from Wyoming and Missouri also accused Hart of sexually abusing them as well, bringing the total of sex abuse allegations against Hart to more than a dozen. It was also revealed that in June 2019

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

started a canonical penal process against Hart. On August 28, 2019, it was announced that a house owned by Monsignor Thomas O’Brien on Lake Viking in Missouri was used by Hart and O'Brien to allegedly abuse children sexually, with O'Brien's sister allegedly assisting in the cover-ups. The diocese investigation concluded in July 2018, declaring that two victims were credible and their stories substantiated. However, in June 2020, the

Natrona County Natrona County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 79,955, making it the second-most populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Casper. Natrona County comprises the Casper, WY ...

District Attorney's Office declined to press charges against Hart. Believing that the case was prosecutable, the Cheyenne police submitted it to the Wyoming Attorney General. On January 21, 2021, the

in the Vatican cleared Hart of seven sexual abuse charges and stated that five other charges could not be proven. However, the Congregation rebuked Hart;

...for his flagrant lack of prudence as a priest and bishop for being alone with minors in his private residence and on various trips, which could have been potential occasions endangering the ‘obligation to observe continence’ and that would ‘give rise to scandal among the faithful,'

On January 29, 2021, Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill announced that her office would not pursue criminal charges against Hart. Joseph Hubert Hart died on August 23, 2023, at the age of 91.AP (August 24, 2023)
Obit Bishop Joseph Hart
, '' SCNow''. Retrieved August 26, 2023.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Joseph Hubert 1931 births 2023 deaths Clergy from Kansas City, Missouri Rockhurst University alumni Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City–Saint Joseph Roman Catholic bishops of Cheyenne 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II Religious leaders from Missouri Catholics from Missouri