PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia Inquirer
John P. Martin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted: Monday, January 14, 2013
A former Catholic chaplain at Graterford State Prison says state officials defamed him, wrongfully fired him and tried to block his unemployment benefits after the Archdiocese of Philadelphia suspended him in 2011 amid a review of past misconduct by priests.
The Rev. Robert Povish, 47, of Boyertown, was ultimately removed last year from active ministry by Archbishop Charles Chaput for what the prelate called violations of “boundary issues” with children.
But in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, Povish accuses prison officials of ignoring his spotless record there over a decade and savaging his reputation by portraying him as a child-sex abuser, something he says he is not.
“To this day, Reverend Povish has never been accused of sexual misconduct. He was not named in any grand jury report, nor have charges ever been filed against him, nor will there ever be,” said the lawsuit, filed by North Wales lawyer Brian K. Wiley. “What Reverend Povish no longer has is his reputation. Defendants took that away from him. Then, they took away his job.”
The complaint reflects the ripples that continue from the archdiocese’s mass suspension two years ago, the largest of its kind since the clergy sex abuse scandal unfolded in the United States.
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