Monday, December 23, 2002
Church officials didn't say if the victim was a boy or a girl.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A former Roman Catholic priest has been removed from the ministry after admitting to "inappropriate sexual contact with an adolescent" more than 30 years ago, Diocese of Harrisburg officials said.
The Rev. Joseph M. Pease was the priest at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Mount Carmel until he resigned from that position Dec. 13, diocese officials said. Before working at Divine Redeemer, Pease was at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mechanicsburg for 17 years.
Parishioners at the Mechanicsburg church were stunned when they heard the news Sunday. At Sunday Mass, the Rev. James Lyon, vicar general for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, read a letter from Bishop Nicholas C. Dattilo detailing Pease's removal. Attempts to reach Pease to comment were unsuccessful.
Accusation in '95
The initial accusation against Pease came in June 1995, according to Dattilo's letter. Diocese officials confronted Pease in 1995, Dattilo said, but there were "discrepancies in the accounts" and Pease made no admission of guilt.
On Dec. 10 of this year, the victim gave the diocese additional details, according to Dattilo's letter. Pease admitted to the inappropriate sexual contact and was removed Dec. 13, the letter said.
"It's difficult to understand how someone we love and know could cause such harm to a young person," said the Rev. Chester P. Snyder, pastor of St. Joseph's.
The letter said the diocese has received no other sexual misconduct accusations about Pease. But Dattilo wrote that he "responded with appropriate and swift action" in accordance with diocesan policy.
Diocese officials did not specify the victim's age or gender, or the location of the reported incident. Pease has served as a priest for more than 40 years within parishes the Harrisburg diocese.