Vicar for Clergy – Milwaukee Archdioceses
KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis. – The backlash against Kenosha’s progressive Catholic clergy intensified Friday after the Archdiocese of Milwaukee publicly criticized local priests and deacons for submitting letters in support of convicted child groomer Christian Enwright.
Kenosha County Eye reached out to Father Sean Granger of St. James and St. Elizabeth Catholic Churches, who authored one such letter. He did not respond. Clergy from St. Mary’s Catholic Church—including Father Roman Stikel and Deacon Wilson A. Shierk—were also contacted. None replied to requests for comment.
However, in a rare and direct statement, the Archdiocese did speak.
“We have no tolerance for abuse,” said the Very Reverend Father Nathan D. Reesman, Vicar for Clergy for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. “And we agree that it looks gravely problematic that the letters of the priests have the appearance of obstructing public safety for victims of abusive behavior.”
The statement marks a significant rebuke of the Kenosha-area clergy who, despite Enwright’s guilty plea to 15 counts of disorderly conduct related to grooming a student between the ages of 12 and 14, submitted letters urging Judge Gerad Dougvillo to show leniency. Enwright was a former teacher at KTEC Middle School.
At least seven of the letters came from Catholic clergy or church staff, including multiple figures from St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Kenosha. Other supporters included Catholic musicians, out-of-town deacons, and personal acquaintances of Enwright’s.
But one name was notably missing from the stack of letters: Brent Enwright, Christian’s father, who is himself an ordained Catholic deacon. Though deeply involved in church life and believed to have played a role in organizing support behind the scenes, Brent Enwright did not submit a letter on behalf of his son—a silence that many close observers found conspicuous.
This isn’t the first time the Archdiocese has had to respond to behavior by Kenosha’s clergy. In 2023, Archbishop Jerome Listecki issued a directive severing ties with the far-left activist group CUSH, after it was revealed that certain Kenosha priests and deacons—including leaders at St. Mary’s—were using church platforms to promote the group’s political agenda.
Now, that same parish is facing renewed scrutiny for aligning itself with a convicted abuser.
District Attorney Xavier Solis is recommending Enwright serve one year in jail followed by three years of probation.
The sentencing hearing, originally scheduled for today, has been rescheduled to June 5 at 2 p.m. before Judge Gerad Dougvillo at the Kenosha County Courthouse.
As of Friday evening, there has been no public statement from Father Stikel, Deacon Shierk, or St. Mary’s parish leadership.
More updates to come.
21 Responses
Fr. Sean’s silence is LOUD.
Downtown Kenosha Catholics, time to check out St. Anne’s or OLMC/St. Therese.
OLMC/St Therese has a very conservative Pastor and Associate Pastor.
So does St. Anne’s. Fr. Bob is great with kids, too!
I’m so disappointed in Fr. Sean.
yes, thank heavens!
I am so shocked at you, Fr. Sean! I have known you for at least 20 years and for you to vouch for this pedophile over the child victim is extremely disheartening.
How ironic.
The Catholic Church has been a den of inequity for centuries. Nothing new here. By the way , they killed Pope Francis on Easter. He was taking a bit long to die . I would put nothing past these people.
Read all about it in Dan Brown’s upcoming book.
Dan Brown writes fiction, not fact. There are more pedophiles in education and in protestant churches than in the Catholic churches. Look up the data. It is just that the Catholic Church received more negative press. Get your facts straight.
And NO ONE killed Pope Francis. He was dying for months. It is amazing how dumb you are
Of course they gave letters of support pedophiles have to stick together. Too many churches have pedophiles leading them teaching and grooming kids disheartening things. I grew up in Catholic Churches on my father side of the family and saw pedophiles there. But, I also had to go to a Christian fellowship church on my mother’s side and there where pedophiles there as well both the head pastor and the pastor that took over were). Plus look at the all the pedophiles in the newspapers that are in the churches and hold high power places in the church.
Well that is bullshit–if you SAW that many pedophiles, you should have reported them. How exactly did you SEE Pedophiles?
There are lists of the pedophiles in the churches… the church hides them, so they are usually not listed until they die. I knew our priest at St Johns was a creep while going there. It was confirmed by his addition to the pedo list.
And rationalizing how many pedos are in each religion is stupid. One should be more concerned that they all create a hiding place for creeps and protect them when caught.
So, there are those claiming that Fr Sean “vouched” for Christian Enright? You’ll have to define “vouched” for me.
Canon Reverend Sean Granger is the hardest working priest in the region. I suspect that whatever he wrote pertained to a request for mercy, not making excuses for Enright’s immoral, unprofessional, illegal and downright stupid behavior.
Particularly during this Easter season we should be aware of the dangers in us casting stones.
Btw, Father Nathan Reesman is also a rock solid priest. Pax Christi…
The simple fact is that Fr. Sean should have kept quiet completely- no letter for “mercy” or anything along those lines. Just kept out of it entirely.
This case is controversial in that what Enwright is being charged with does not adequately describe what he did. The punishment that he could potentially receive STILL wouldn’t be adequate for the crime.
Fr. Sean’s role in this is to help Enwright make good with the Lord- not get involved with his sentencing. Hear his confession— absolve him if he’s truly sorry- and if he’s not truly sorry, lead him away from his sinful ways, and help him to BE truly sorry.
Well said. Hopefully the judge sees through the letters. The victim is the student whose concerns were negated and overlooked by the School and district and the “system” that does not have more appropriate charges in place.
Most judges aren’t moved by “fan mail.” Who submits a negative letter of recommendation? If there is honest information that is helpful, then it may get attention.
Yes, but people in power stick together and thats a fact!
You should read the actual letter that Father Sean wrote. It does not ask for mercy or leniency. Father Sean ends it with a call for justice to be done. Character reference letters are standard for court cases even when the person is guilty, and used by judges to get a better view of the person being sentenced. There is nothing problematic in Father Sean’s letter, Kenosha County Eye is being unjustly inflammatory in its reporting on this.
I know that there has been major misconduct at St. Joe’s. The Archdiocese and local priests know about it. They try to glaze over the issues to avoid bad press like this. Kevin, you should look into it. There is a big story here…
Gayness
Everyone should calm down, I will not pass judgment on my parish priest until I see the letter.
Let’s not accuse people without knowing all the facts. By doing that you become part of the problem, not the solution.