CONNECTICUT
CT Post
Daniel Tepfer
Updated 12:31 am, Friday, January 24, 2014
STRATFORD — Bishop Frank Caggiano huddled privately with parishioners of Our Lady of Grace parish Thursday to apologize for not discussing past allegations of abuse and sexual harassment against their new pastor.
The prior accusations against Monsignor Martin Ryan — and the potential for scandal — are shaping up as one of the new bishop’s first major dilemmas.
The bishop assured parishioners that Ryan’s case had been thoroughly vetted more than a decade ago by the same review board that had recommended the removal of priests during the height of the Bridgeport diocese sex abuse crisis, said Brian Wallace, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese.
The review board had decided that the monsignor should not be removed, Wallace said.
But Ryan, who had been pastor of St. Edward the Confessor Church in New Fairfield since 1992, was removed from that church in June 2011 by diocesan officials after he acknowledged he had sent “inappropriate” emails to a female parish employee. At the time, Wallace said there was no allegation or evidence of any sexual conduct.
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