Saturday, June 27, 2026
Friday, June 26, 2026
Clergy Gone Wild: Madison priest stripped of clerical role after child sex crime charges
David Clarey
A Madison Catholic priest was stripped of his clerical duties after allegations of child pornography surfaced against the man in 2025.
The June 24 stripping of Andrew J. Showers’ clerical duties comes after Waupaca County prosecutors charged the 38-year-old man with felonies after they say he he attempted to meet with a 14-year-old girl to have sex with her, but it was actually a police officer. Prosecutors also charged him with possession of child pornography earlier this year.
Showers was also the subject of two other misconduct allegations following his 2025 arrest, one for inappropriate questioning during confession and another allegation of groping a woman.
The Diocese of Madison announced Pope Leo XIV made the decision to remove Showers of his duties after Showers requested the removal himself, according to the Diocese’s June 25 letter. That church process, known as laicization, means he is known longer a member of the church’s clergy.
“I ask for your continued prayers for all those affected and commend everyone involved, including Andrew, to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,” said Donald Hying, Bishop of Madison, in a letter to diocese members. “May we find comfort in the Lord’s unfailing love and mercy, remembering that He remains with us in every trial, suffering, and sorrow.”
The charges came after Clintonville Police Department officers arrested Showers on Aug. 24, 2025 after he attempted to meet with an officer posing as a 14-year-old girl for sex.
Then, in March, prosecutors charged Showers with two additional felonies for possession of child pornography. Authorities said they found two pornographic images of girls on a messaging app on Showers’ phone.
The Diocese of Madison had previously announced Showers’s first arrest Aug. 25, 2025, and restricted him from ministry during the investigation. In that announcement, it erroneously said the church had not received any prior allegations of misconduct conduct against Showers.
However, two days later, the Diocese of Madison said Showers was the subject of a previous complaint in December 2021. The Journal Sentinel previously reported that complaint came from a parent who reported his son was asked about watching pornography and masturbating during confession at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Lodi, according to a police record.
The Lodi Police Department investigated the complaint and determined it was not criminal. The father also said he reported it to the church, who said Showers’ actions were within his role as a priest.
More allegations surfaced against Showers in Sept. 2025. A woman said she was groped by the man during a social event, where he introduced himself as a priest and gave her his business card.
Showers had been set to lead a small group trip to Rome and Siena at the time of the allegations, according to since-deleted social media posts.
Showers had the following assignments, according to the diocese:
- Director of diocesan office of worship, 2024 to present.
- Parochial vicar for a grouping known as Pastorate 22 or Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which collectively includes two churches, St. Raphael and Good Shepherd, and one school, St. James, all in Madison, 2023 to present.
- Priest in residence at All Saints in Berlin and Our Lady of the Lake in Green Lake, 2022 to 2023.
- Provided Spanish Mass assistance at St. John the Baptist in Waunakee, 2022.
- Pastor of St. Stephen in Clinton, 2020 to 2022.
- Parochial vicar for St. Paul's Catholic Student Center, which serves UW-Madison students, 2018 to 2020.
- Parochial vicar of St. Cecilia in Wisconsin Dells, summer of 2017.
Monday, May 18, 2026
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Friday, August 29, 2025
Madison priest accused of child sex crimes faced a previous complaint in 2021
Mary Spicuzza
Andrew J. Showers, a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Madison who is now charged with child sex crimes, faced a previous complaint about his conduct four years ago.
Prosecutors charged Showers Aug. 27 with attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, attempted child enticement and attempted use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. The criminal complaint against Showers, 37, says he sent sexually explicit online messages and traveled to Waupaca County to meet someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl to have sex with her, unaware he was actually corresponding with a Clintonville police officer.
The Diocese of Madison said it learned of the arrest Aug. 25 and restricted Showers from ministry while the investigation is ongoing. The diocese initially said it had not previously received any allegations of misconduct connected to Showers, who was ordained in 2017.
But the diocese then acknowledged on Aug. 27 that Showers had been the subject of a previous complaint.
"I need to share with you that an ongoing review of diocesan files, email messages, and phone records revealed that a complaint about Fr. Showers was made to the diocese by a parent in December 2021," Madison Bishop Donald J. Hying wrote in a letter to members of the diocese. "The parent expressed concern about pastoral questions which were asked of a male middle-school child during the Sacrament of Confession."
A Lodi Police Department incident report shows a father reported Showers for "inappropriate questions the priest asked his son during confession" at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Lodi.
The father said that, during confession, Showers began to ask his son "about masturbation and if he was viewing pornography," and that "his son was very uncomfortable about this and reported it" immediately after leaving the church.
The father also told Lodi police that he had contacted the church and diocese officials, who "explained that many times the Priest will prompt persons during confession about sins that are natural for that age group, and they believed this is what Rev. Showers had done."
Lodi police determined "the incident did not seem to rise to the level of a criminal act but appeared to be more a question of appropriateness."
The incident report said that police would wait to see what the church investigation revealed before interviewing Showers.
Hying's letter noted that police determined "the incident did not rise to the level of a criminal act."
"I apologize that this parental complaint was not included in our initial communication," he wrote.
Hying later added, "I continue to ask for your prayers for everyone involved in this situation."
The Diocese of Madison said allegations of sexual misconduct always should be brought to law enforcement, and allegations involving priests, deacons or other church personnel should also be reported to the diocese's sexual misconduct question and reporting line, at 608-821-3162, regardless of when they are said to have occurred.
Showers had the following assignments, according to the diocese:
- Director of diocesan office of worship, 2024 to present.
- Parochial vicar for a grouping known as Pastorate 22 or Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which collectively includes two churches, St. Raphael and Good Shepherd, and one school, St. James, all in Madison, 2023 to present.
- Priest in residence at All Saints in Berlin and Our Lady of the Lake in Green Lake, 2022 to 2023.
- Provided Spanish Mass assistance at St. John the Baptist in Waunakee, 2022.
- Pastor of St. Stephen in Clinton, 2020 to 2022.
- Parochial vicar for St. Paul's Catholic Student Center, which serves UW-Madison students, 2018 to 2020.
- Parochial vicar of St. Cecilia in Wisconsin Dells, summer of 2017.
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