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."