Former Rochester Priest Accused of Sexual Abuse Is Removed from Ministry

By Jeremy C. Fox
Boston Globe
September 11, 2002

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/11/metro/former-rochester-priest-accused-sexual-abuse-is-removed-ministry/

[Note: The description of Fr. James E. Gaudreau in this article is incorrect. He was ordered to live a life a prayer and penance, not defrocked.]

A former Massachusetts priest accused of sexually abusing young boys during the 1970s and 1980s has been defrocked by the Vatican, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston said Friday.

John P. Lyons was “dismissed … from the clerical state” and “may no longer function in any capacity as a priest,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

“We are grateful to the victims who had the strength to come forward,” the archdiocese said. “Their courage assisted the Church in seeking justice. We pray for all those affected by this matter.”

Lyons was ordained in 1955 and removed from public ministry and the pastorate of St. Rose of Lima Church in Rochester in May 2002, the archdiocese said.