Carl A. Kemme

Carl Alan Kemme (born August 14, 1960) is an American Catholic prelate who serves as bishop of Wichita in Kansas.

Biography

Early life Carl Kemme was born on August 14, 1960, in Effingham, Illinois to Donald and Marita (Kortte) Kemme, who ran a farm near Shumway, Illinois. Carl Kemme has four brothers and one sister. Kemme attended Shumway Elementary School and then Beecher City High School. After deciding to study for the priesthood, Kemme transferred to St. Henry's Preparatory Seminary in Belleville, Illinois, where he finished high school.

After high school, Kemme enrolled at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Springfield, Illinois. He later graduated from Cardinal Glennon College in St. Louis and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Divinity degree. After his ordination, Kemme served as parochial vicar in the following parishes in Illinois:

St. Patrick in Decatur from 1986 to 1989 Saints Peter and Paul in Collinsville from 1989 to 1990 Blessed Sacrament in Springfield from 1990 to 1992 Kemme added this statement:Owning our past is the first step in building a new future, one in which we will continue to diligently work hard as we have been for many years now, so that these violations to human dignity will never happen again. Many of the faithful will no doubt experience great anger in receiving this information. I share that anger. On November 1, 2021, Kemme placed Michael Schemm from Resurrection Parish in Bel Aire, on suspension pending investigation. The diocese had received sexual abuse allegations against Schemm dating back to the 1990s. The diocese also forwarded the allegations to local police. Due to insufficient evidence of any crime, Schemm was not indicted and returned to ministry in March 2022.