Posted on 07/11/2005 4:23:59 PM PDT by Calpernia
The pastor of a Roman Catholic church has been removed after a church inquiry into allegations he sexually abused a minor 18 years ago.
In a letter read over the weekend to parishioners of St. Joseph's Church, Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski said the Rev. John Casey has been removed from his post and all active church ministry. He is accused of molesting a minor when he served as a parochial vicar at St. Peter The Apostle Church in New Brunswick.
The bishop noted that Casey denies the allegation.
Bootkoski said the diocese conducted its own investigation after law enforcement authorities determined that the statute of limitations for the alleged crime had expired.
"It was the conclusion of the professional investigator and the Diocesan Review Board, and it is my own conclusion, that the charges are not without merit," the bishop wrote.
Casey did not immediately return a message seeking comment forwarded to him through the diocese's public relations office.
Diocesan spokeswoman Joanne Ward said the priest is accused of a single instance of misconduct.
His case was sent to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith for review.
The bishop appointed the Rev. Edward Edwards, a weekend assistant at St. Joseph's, as the parish's temporary administrator.
ping
Right on. The Catholic cleregy is loaded with queers and nobody wants to do anything about it. Maybe Pope Benedict XVI will show more resolve in confronting the homo problem than Pope JPII.
yuck! I practically live down the street from this church, though I don't believe I've ever met the priest in question. My heart skipped a beat though when I saw the text of the article. I go to St Paul the Apostle Church, and for a second I read St Peter as St Paul. Well at least Bishop Bootkowski is taking action on this. Too bad the statue of limitations has expired.
< img src="http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=71mlmo">
disregard above please
I'm not an apologist for homosexual Catholic priests. Still, this guy says he is innocent, and there have been a number of priests so tarred that really were innocent. It's plenty easy these days to say the priest must be guilty. I'd like to see the evidence.
The homsexuals in the MSM protecting homosexuals in the priesthood again.
who is the fat guy?
ROME, July 11, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - One of the best known English-speaking Vatican reporters, John Allen, reports that the long-expected Vatican document calling attention to the fact that homosexual persons are not to be admitted to the priesthood is "now in the hands of Pope Benedict XVI". The document will come as no surprise to Vatican watchers since Rome has previously released two official documents barring homosexuals from the priesthood. As Allen puts it, with the new document, the teaching won't "change, but the level of authority and clarity" will, since the new document will be directly authorized by the Pope.
The former Church documents make it clear that not only men who have been sexually active as homosexuals but also those inclined to homosexual sex would be barred from the priesthood. A 1961 document produced by the Sacred Congregation for Religious states: "Those affected by the perverse inclination to homosexuality or pederasty should be excluded from religious vows and ordination," because priestly ministry would place such persons in "grave danger". (See coverage here: http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2002/mar/02032701.html )
In a 2002 statement, Cardinal Estevez of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stated in answer to a question by a bishop: "Ordination to the deaconate and the priesthood of homosexual men or men with homosexual tendencies is absolutely inadvisable and imprudent and, from the pastoral point of view, very risky. A homosexual person, or one with a homosexual tendency is not, therefore, fit to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders." (see that full letter here: http://www.adoremus.org/Notitiae-Ordination.html )
However, Allen suggests that some American bishops are hoping the Vatican shelves the document since they contend it will "generate controversy and negative press".
Last month, as the US Conference of Catholic Bishops was meeting, Chicago Cardinal Francis George spoke on the subject. The Chicago Tribune quoted the Cardinal as saying, "Also, anyone who has been part of a gay subculture or who has lived promiscuously as a heterosexual would not be admitted ... no matter how many years in his background that might have occurred."
See John Allen's 'Word from Rome' column: http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/
Vatican Prepares Draft Directives Against Admitting Gays as Priests
By John Thavis
Catholic News Service
(From the issue of 10/10/02)
http://www.catholicherald.com/cns/draft-gays.htm
jpii was on top of it.
I dont know who the fat guy is....but he is the epitome of why one shouldnt chat online with a stranger...
I tried to post the pic alone...but confess my inability to post a picture without a link. If you know how, I am all ears.
I dont know who the fat guy is....but he is the epitome of why one shouldnt chat online with a stranger...
I tried to post the pic alone...but confess my inability to post a picture without a link. If you know how, I am all ears.
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