Pubdate: Wed, 12 Dec 2007 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2007 Journal Sentinel Inc. Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/submit.asp Website: http://www.jsonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265 Author: Tom Heinen BROOKFIELD PASTOR CHARGED WITH POSSESSING CRACK St. John Vianney Priest Had Served Weakland The pastor of St. John Vianney Parish in Brookfield and former priest-secretary to now-retired Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, was charged Tuesday in Milwaukee County with misdemeanor possession of cocaine. Father Leonard Van Vlaenderen, 49, was arrested by St. Francis police after they got a report about 6:20 p.m. Saturday of a suspicious car in the parking lot of a vacant commercial building in the 3500 block of E. Lunham Ave., said St. Francis Police Chief Brian Kaebisch. The responding officer found Van Vlaenderen alone in an impaired condition and, concerned about his health, called for medical assistance. Tire tracks indicated that the car had been driven on the sidewalk for at least one block before stopping, Kaebisch said. Searching Van Vlaenderen, the officer found two clear plastic bags in a front pants pocket. Each contained a yellowish-white rock that turned out to be crack cocaine weighing a combined total of 4.7 grams, according to Kaebisch and the criminal complaint. Van Vlaenderen told the arresting officer that he was under the influence of cocaine and that the cocaine that was found on him was not for delivery, the criminal complaint says. If convicted, Van Vlaenderen faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. He made his first court appearance Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty. He is free on $250 bail. Van Vlaenderen served as Weakland's priest-secretary for more than a decade, which included driving him to events and assisting at liturgical functions until Weakland retired in spring 2002. He's been at St. John Vianney, one of the largest parishes in the 10-county archdiocese with more than 7,900 registered parishioners, since mid-2002, said Kathleen Hohl, archdiocesan spokeswoman. The archdiocese was taking steps to work with Van Vlaenderen on health-related issues and to arrange for the pastoral care of St. John Vianney Parish, she said. The arrest and charges startled parishioners, though it was widely known that Van Vlaenderen had struggled with personal issues. He had returned to the parish in September after about a nine-month leave of absence for what parish leaders and other parish members understood to be mental health reasons, said Frank Pasternak, of Brookfield, a member of the parish council. "I'm shocked by it, because from what I had seen since he came back in the last three months it seemed to me that there had been improvement in his health . . . I think we're all saddened about this incident." - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath