BishopAccountability.org
	Priest Who Served in Lexington Diocese Accused of Sex Abuse Associated Press, carried in Herald-Leader [Lexington KY] August 18, 2005 A priest who once served two parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington has been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor, the diocese said yesterday. The diocese identified the priest as Father Pete Richardson, who was pastor at parishes in West Liberty and Owingsville from July 1994 to January 2004. Yesterday, the diocese received a letter dated Aug. 11 to Lexington Bishop Ronald Gainer from Father Dan Dorsey, the president of the Cincinnati-based Glenmary Home Missioners. Richardson now is the director of Glenmary's department of pastoral services, which is in Nashville. The letter said the allegations were made Aug. 8, diocesan spokesman Tom Shaughnessy said, and that Dorsey had contacted the alleged victim and his parents as well as the county attorney for Morgan County in Kentucky. It also said that Dorsey had engaged a Texas-based risk management company to investigate the allegations. The diocese said that Richardson has been recalled from Nashville to Cincinnati. A woman who answered the phone yesterday afternoon at Glenmary's Nashville office referred questions to the Cincinnati office. The Cincinnati office was closed for the day, and no home number was available for Dorsey or Richardson. The Glenmary Home Missioners is a religious order, founded in 1939, that serves in rural areas in 11 states. Shaughnessy said the allegations were made to the religious order, not the diocese, and that before receiving the letter, the diocese had not received any allegations of sexual misconduct against Richardson. Diocesan officials, Glenmary Father Jerry Dorn and the present pastor of the two parishes will meet with parishioners "at the earliest possible time," Shaughnessy said.