Wisconsin priest charged with child sex crimes dismissed from clerical state

(OSV News) — A former Wisconsin priest charged with child enticement, attempted sexual assault and possession of child sex abuse material has been laicized.

Andrew Showers “has been released from the rights, duties, and obligations of the clerical state,” said Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison in a June 25 letter to the faithful.

Showers, who had been ordained in 2017 for that diocese, had “petitioned the Vatican for a dispensation from the obligations associated with the clerical state, and that petition was granted by Pope Leo XIV,” said Bishop Hying, who noted he had “received notification from the Holy See” regarding the decision.

The bishop explained that Showers “may no longer exercise priestly ministry, including the celebration of Mass, baptism, anointing of the sick, etc., or other functions proper to a priest.”

In addition, said Bishop Hying, “he is not to wear clerical attire, including the Roman collar, and should no longer be addressed as ‘Father’ or ‘Reverend.'”

OSV News has confirmed with Waupaca County, Wisconsin, officials that the 38-year-old Showers remains free on a $10,000 cash bond.

He had been arrested in August 2025 for attempting to meet up with a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl named “Abby.”

In reality, then-Father Showers — who drove some 120 miles north of his parish at the time for the encounter — had been exchanging sexually explicit messages and images on Reddit and Telegram with an undercover sergeant.

In that incident, the now-former priest — who at the time had been director of the diocese’s Office of Worship and parochial vicar for Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Madison — was charged with child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, and attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child.

The charges, all felonies, carry maximum sentences of anywhere from 20 to 40 years, and fines ranging from $50,000 to $100,000.

Additional charges — two felony counts of possession of child pornography — were brought against him in March 2026 following an investigation of his digital devices, which had been seized during his 2025 arrest.

Currently, the 2025 charges and March charges are being prosecuted as separate cases, both of which are ongoing, according to court records.

In April, Showers appeared in court, waiving his right to a preliminary hearing and pleading not guilty.

A status conference has been set in the cases for July 29, according to court records.

In his June 25 letter, Bishop Hying said, “As I have indicated previously, I remain committed to transparent and timely communication regarding this sad and difficult situation.”

The bishop, writing in March, had expressed his “profound sorrow” over the “deeply troubling” news of the additional charges, saying the diocese is “cooperating fully with the civil authorities.”

Last year, Bishop Hying and the diocese had clarified their responses to 2021 and 2024 complaints about Father Showers, which respectively involved a penitent-clergy exchange with a minor during confession and the alleged groping of an adult woman at a public event.

In an Aug. 27, 2025, message to the faithful, Bishop Hying noted that “a complaint about Fr. Showers was made to the diocese by a parent in December 2021,” in which “the parent expressed concern about pastoral questions which were asked of a male middle-school child during the Sacrament of Confession.”

Bishop Hying said the parent had reported those concerns to the Lodi, Wisconsin, police department, which determined after interviewing the father and child that “the incident did not rise to the level of a criminal act” and did therefore “not refer the matter further or pursue it with the diocese.”

Both the diocese and Bishop Hying had released respective statements on Sept. 5 and 6, 2025, regarding the alleged 2024 incident, which involved a young woman named Patricia Moriarty, who publicly identified herself as the victim during a Sept. 4, 2025, press conference.

Bishop Hying said in his statement at that time that it was “false to state that I or diocesan staff knew of abuse allegations against Fr. Showers and failed to act on information which had been received about him.”

The diocese said in its statement then that while he and the diocese had been in communication, Moriarty’s father, John, “would not share essential information with diocesan staff designated to handle allegations, including the name of the priest, the location where the alleged incident occurred, and/or which police department was investigating.”

“Had we known that Fr. Showers was the priest in question behind the 2024 allegation, immediate action could and would have been taken,” said the diocese at the time.

Bishop Hying concluded his June 25 letter by saying, “I ask for your continued prayers for all those affected and commend everyone involved, including Andrew, to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. May we find comfort in the Lord’s unfailing love and mercy, remembering that He remains with us in every trial, suffering, and sorrow.”

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