Bishop James Hoffman is seeking the names of at least two dozen teenagers who attended two church retreats co-led by a former diocesan official who previously had violated the child abuse and adult sexual misconduct policy of the diocese.

The bishop plans to notify the parents of the youth who attended the retreats.

His plan has been held up because the co-leader's brother, The Rev. Joseph R. Steinbauer, pastor of All Saints Catholic Church in Rossford, is defying the bishop's request.

In May, 1996, the Toledo Catholic Diocese issued a memo barring Terry Steinbauer, a former youth ministry director for the diocese, from being involved in “planning, organizing, participating in, or hosting any youth ministry functions.”

Despite the order, Mr. Steinbauer, 46, accompanied a group of about 15 high school students last year on an overnight retreat to Hocking Hills, in southern Ohio, and participated in a retreat for at least that many eighth graders at Cardinal Stritch High School the previous year.

Bishop Hoffman, after learning last month of the lapses, fired off a pointed memo to Rob Timbrook, volunteer youth minister at All Saints Church in Rossford. A copy of the July 22 letter was obtained this week by The Blade.

“A victim of sexual abuse by Mr. Steinbauer finds it outrageous that he has been allowed to work with young people in view of his past record,” the bishop wrote. “I have promised this victim that I would ask you to send me the names of the parents of the young people who were at these two retreats. It is my intention to send a note to each parent and inform them of this mistake.”

Mr. Steinbauer had been director of youth ministry for the diocese for 15 years before his 1996 resignation, which followed allegations by four women to diocesan officials that he had sexually abused them as teenagers and young adults.

The youth leader “had been in the process of most likely being dismissed, and in the process offered his resignation,” the Rev. Michael Billian, chancellor of the diocese, said this week.

Mr. Steinbauer yesterday denied the allegations.

“First of all, I'm very saddened by the whole experience,” he said. “Second of all, I've done nothing wrong.”

He said he had no further comment and will consult an attorney.

When told of Mr. Steinbauer's statement, Father Billian said the former youth leader “had admitted to indiscretions, but it seems he is changing his tune.”

The chancellor said because of the personnel changes during the last six years, not all diocesan youth leaders were aware of the six-year-old order barring Mr. Steinbauer from youth ministry events.

Mr. Steinbauer, a financial planner for American Express Financial Advisors, Inc., in Rossford, was named in a July 3 memo from Frank DiLallo, diocesan case manager, as an individual who has “violated the Child Abuse and Sexual Misconduct Diocesan Policy” and who is “not permitted to serve in any ministry or employment capacity in our diocese.”

Bishop Hoffman was unavailable for comment, but Father Billian said the leader of the 19-county diocese's 325,000 Catholics wrote to Mr. Timbrook because “he wanted to make sure that it didn't happen again.”

The bishop gave a deadline of July 29 for receiving the list of parents' names, but he has not received the information from the Rossford parish, Father Billian said.

Father Steinbauer, the older brother of Terry Steinbauer, said he has not complied with the bishop's request because he thinks his brother deserves “due process.”

“We wrote back to the bishop and said there hasn't been any due process going on. ... I said there hasn't been any proof or anything at all that I know of. So we didn't do anything with that letter at all,” Father Steinbauer said last week.

The pastor of All Saints said he was never informed that his brother was banned from youth ministry activities.

“We were never told anything about not using Terry or anything like that,” he said.

The May 22, 1996, memo, recently obtained by The Blade, was addressed to Youth Ministry Leadership. It was written by Sister Janet Doyle, then superintendent of schools for the diocese, and William Jenks, then diocesan case manager.

“This memo is an attempt to clarify certain issues surrounding the recent resignation of Terry Steinbauer, youth ministry director, on a strictly confidential basis, because you each share a common moral interest with us in preserving the integrity and safety of our Youth Ministry and each of its participants,” Sister Doyle and Mr. Jenks wrote.

The memo stated that the women who had complained to diocesan officials had alleged that “Terry was involved with them in a romantic-sexual way when they were participants in Youth Ministry. Terry admitted that `he has dated all along people involved in the Youth Ministry program.' When questioned about these allegations, Terry stated that `he has done some inappropriate things.'”

Sister Doyle and Mr. Jenks then wrote: “We cannot condone the exploitation of those whom we profess to serve.”

Four of the women who had filed the initial allegations with the diocese told The Blade that they were angered when they learned last month that Mr. Steinbauer had participated in youth retreats as recently as last year.

“It's not my goal to expose him, but it is my goal to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else,” one victim, who asked not to be identified, said.

“And the only way you can do that, unfortunately, is by exposing him.”

First Published August 18, 2002, 11:05 a.m.