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Priest sued for fathering child

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 27 (UPI) -- A Missouri man is suing a Roman Catholic priest who has allegedly admitted fathering a child with the man's wife, a report said.

The civil suit, announced at a news conference Monday by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, names the Rev. Joseph Matt and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as defendants. The suit alleges Matt fathered a child with the man's wife, The Kansas City Star reported.

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"It's been a nightmare," the man told the newspaper. "It's not a good thing to find out that your son is not yours and the father is actually a priest that you thought you could trust. I still can't believe it."

The lawsuit also alleges the diocese and Matt tried to cover up the relationship.

The diocese, which said it has never denied the affair, said Matt has acknowledged the relationship and the results of a paternity test. "In October 2010, Bishop (Robert) Finn removed Father Matt from his ministerial assignment at St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Independence. A public statement to the parish community acknowledged the suspension as a consequence of the affair," the diocese said in a statement.

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The lawsuit alleges Matt, who sits on the diocese's Marriage Tribunal, began a relationship with the woman in 2004 when she went to him for counseling after losing her job. He was a priest at a south Kansas City parish at the time, the report said.

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