Fr Kachel appointed new pastor of Umberger's former St Pat's

On his first weekend as leader of the La Crosse Catholic diocese, Bishop William Patrick Callahan celebrated Mass at St. Patrick's church in Onalaska, where he urged the parish to maintain hope and faith after the arrest of their former pastor on child pornography charges.

Praying for healing and strength, Callahan promised to work to protect the children of the diocese and prevent anything similar from happening again. He also announced the appointment of a new pastor to lead St. Patrick's.

Callahan acknowledged the impact of the July 14 arrest of the Rev. Patrick Umberger.

"The influence of evil always leaves a trail of sadness and sorrow," he said. "I think that may be where some of us are right now. Some are sad. Some are angry. Some are disappointed. All of us are feeling the effects of a bad thing that has happened. It has dealt a serious blow to this community. We cannot simply or casually dismiss the action or our feelings about it."

He also addressed questions surrounding the investigation.

"I don't know all the details or the history of what happened," Callahan said. "Nor do I know who knew what when."

Umberger's arrest came almost a year after Lake Delton police investigated reports that he trailed boys into a bathroom by a kid's pool at Noah's Ark Water Park. He denied following the boys and said prostate problems caused him to urinate frequently. No criminal charges resulted, but the park revoked Umberger's season pass and put him on a watch list.

Diocese officials said they learned of the water park incident but put no restrictions on Umberger's duties after confirming his medical condition. Umberger told state agents that the diocese's attorney and vicar for clergy counseled him after receiving a letter regarding his behavior at Noah's Ark.

Callahan said he trusts law enforcement officials to investigate Umberger.

"When they have completed their work, we in the diocese must continue to do ours to safeguard our children and to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again."

Callahan on Thursday became the 10th bishop of the La Crosse diocese, which encompasses 165 parishes across more than 15,000 square miles of Wisconsin and serves nearly 200,000 members.

He announced the appointment of the Rev. Steven Kachel as the new pastor of St. Patrick's, which has been under the direction of Deacon Frank Abnet since Umberger's arrest. Umberger has since resigned his pastorate.

Kachel, currently pastor of St. Mary's parish in Tomah, will take over Sept. 1.

Callahan said it was appropriate to make his first visit to the parish on the feast day of the Assumption, the day on which Catholics believe the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken, body and soul, into heaven.

"This feast offers us a profound and significant hope," he said. "(Mary) has a mother's way of helping her children deal with some really bad pain that sometimes we human beings inflict on one another. I hope you will allow me to share the pain with you and I hope that you will allow me to walk with you on the way to healing."

 La Crosse Trib

It is a GREAT gesture for Bp Callahan to visit St Pats personally.  I think there was alot of people wondering if it would be one of those cases where the Church was going to pretend like nothing happened.  It's too bad we did not have a bishop when all this went down.  I think the people at St Pats were looking for something a little more personal than having a letter read at the end of Mass(which was done the weekend after the news broke).

Immaculate Conception in Tomah doesn't look like it has its own website other than a generic one.  A friend told me that Bishop Callahan joked that he was old friends with Fr. Kachel and that being friends with the bishop means you get all the tough assignments.