Former Dixon priest cleared

ILLINOIS
SaukValley.com

BY DAVID GIULIANI dgiuliani@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 525
Created: Tuesday, September 3, 2013

DIXON – A former Dixon priest has returned to the ministry after law enforcement authorities cleared him of wrongdoing in a computer usage investigation, the area’s Catholic bishop said.

In March, the Diocese of Rockford relieved the Rev. John Gow of St. Patrick Parish in Dixon as a result of the investigation, Bishop David Malloy of Rockford said in a statement. It was done as a precaution while Gow and the diocese cooperated with authorities, the bishop said.

Gow has now been assigned as associate pastor at St. John Neumann Parish in St. Charles. He started Sunday.

“Father Gow is returning to the full exercise of his priestly duties and deserves the total restoration of his good name and reputation,” Malloy said. “The information that prompted the investigation was baseless.”

Malloy’s statement was read Sunday during weekend Masses at St. Patrick.

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