Retired Wyoming Bishop Exonerated on Seven Sexual Abuse Allegations by Vatican

By Seth Klamann
Denver Gazette
January 25, 2021

https://denvergazette.com/news/courts/retired-wyoming-bishop-exonerated-on-seven-sexual-abuse-allegations-by-vatican/article_2be1faac-5f31-11eb-9062-3373e04c4493.html

Retired Wyoming bishop Joseph Hart has been cleared of sexual abuse allegations by the Vatican, after an 18-month penal process that exonerated the clergyman on seven accusations of abuse for a man accused of abusing more than a dozen adolescents.

Five more accusations were "not proven with moral certitude," according to a press release from the Diocese of Cheyenne. Two more were not considered because the alleged victims were over the age of 16. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the branch of the Vatican that handles such investigations, examined allegations from 11 men and one woman.

"These findings do not equate to innocence; rather, a high burden of proof has not been met," the Diocese of Cheyenne stated in a Monday afternoon news release.