Overview
- The Diocese of Madison said Pope Leo XIV approved Showers’s petition to be laicized effective June 24, 2026, barring him from priestly duties and clerical dress.
- Showers was arrested in an undercover Clintonville sting in August 2025 after traveling to meet who he believed was a 14-year-old; he was immediately restricted from public ministry.
- Investigators allege forensic review of devices seized in the probe identified two sexually explicit images of minors, leading to two additional felony possession charges filed in March 2026.
- Showers has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony counts including attempted child enticement, attempted use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, and two counts of possessing child pornography; he is due back in court on July 29, 2026.
- The diocese says it is cooperating with Waupaca and Dane County investigators, victims advocates are seeking further review of the diocese’s past handling of allegations, and laicization removes canonical status but does not affect the criminal process.