PENNSYLVANIA
WNEP
by Julie Melf
WYALUSING — Leaders with the Diocese of Scranton have suspended a priest from public ministry after he was charged with open lewdness.
According to the diocese, Father Daniel Doherty, was taken into custody last Friday. He served as an assistant pastor at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Tunkhannock and at Saint Mary of the Lake in Lake Winola.
A statement released by the Diocese of Scranton says Father Doherty engaged in lewd behavior with an adult woman at Wyalusing Borough Park in Bradford County.
According to the statement, “In response to this situation, the Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L., Bishop of Scranton, has removed Father’s Doherty’s faculties and has prohibited him from exercising public ministry pending a legal disposition. In reaction to this matter, Bishop Bambera expressed anger with the apparent inappropriate, immoral and seemingly illegal behavior. Bishop Bambera also expressed concern for the pastor and people of the parish communities in Tunkhannock and Lake Winola where Father Doherty has been serving.”
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