Review Board to Provide Recommendation for Priest
NBC4i
January 18, 2006
http://www.nbc4i.com/news/6220972/detail.html
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A priest in the Catholic Diocese of Columbus is under review for alleged sexual misconduct.
An independent review team has looked into the allegations and will make a recommendation for the future of the priest within the church, NBC 4's Nancy Burton reported.
The chair of the seven-member review board said the committee's mission is clear.
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"We don't run the diocese. The bishop does that and he gets his authority from Rome," said Yvette McGee Brown, president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy.
The board is in charge of reviewing cases of alleged sexual misconduct involving priests within the Columbus Diocese.
"So far, all the allegations involve adults -- something happened in childhood, beyond the statute of police to file charges," Brown said.
The board and the diocese would not talk about the latest allegation, the priest or the parish in question.
Claudia Vercellotti, a Toledo woman who said she was molested by a priest as a child, said she was angry that the diocese would not release the name of the priest or his church.
"By not naming who the cleric is, it does a disservice to all the good priests and makes parents in Catholic schools especially suspect," Vercellotti said.
Brown said the board will make a recommendation soon and it won't involve the law or the court system.
"We're not determining criminal or civil liability. It's just whether the conduct of the priest should allow that priest to continue in his job to minister," Brown said.
The survivors network of those abused by priests said, when it comes to sexual misconduct, police and prosecutors should be reviewing the cases -- not an independent board.
Brown disagrees, saying the review board can be effective. She said the bishop follows recommendations, and has removed a priest from the church.
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