I want to take a moment to update you on a disturbing allegation made against me. The allegation against me by an anonymous person is a complete fabrication. It never happened. I have never had sexual contact with another person. I am considering the canonical and legal options available to me in response to this unfounded accusation.
The priest is claiming that Grindr falsely claimed his personal information would be safe, and then sold it to third parties without alerting him that it could be used to identify him. In July 2021, a Catholic news site published a story about the priest's alleged use of Grindr based on what it described as information obtained from commercially available data from Grindr. "At the very least, the article could have included assessments from independent experts on child sexual abuse regarding whether sexual orientation, in itself, plays a role, and whether the use of dating apps is a true red flag. The choice not to do so can suggest either recklessness, or, more alarming, a deliberate desire to raise doubts about all gay clergy, even those (presumably the majority) faithful to their vows who’ve never abused anyone."
A former associate priest lost his appeal to the State Supreme Court. He sued for more than $2 million claiming he did nothing wrong and was denied due process. The priest's attorney said, “When the archdiocese placed his name on a list of priests who were credibly accused of sexual criminal misconduct, they in effect convicted him without the benefit of a trial, without the benefit of him being able to present evidence, without him being able to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him, and in effect, he’s been convicted without a trial.”
The Apostolic Signatura reasoned that a credible accusation of sexual abuse of a minor was not a sufficient cause, by itself, to remove a priest from the office of pastor. The Bishop erred in removing Father from the office of Pastor due to the credible accusation without an intervening procedural process to further determine the truth of the accusation.
A County judge has rejected a request by state investigators to compel the Catholic Archdiocese to release decades of records on priests who may have abused children. The Judge ruled that the Attorney General lacks the authority to demand the documents and that the Catholic Church has a religious exemption.
A Catholic priest under investigation since 2018 has been cleared of accusations of sexual abuse. An independent review board found no sufficient evidence to proceed with criminal action in the matter of accusations against the priest. The board rendered a verdict in the priest's favor on the claims for civil assault, civil battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The investigation is now closed and the priest is no longer on administrative leave.