CHICAGO (IL)
NBC Chicago
[with video]
The pastor of a Roman Catholic church in the North Side Lake View neighborhood has been reinstated after an investigation found an allegation of sexual contact with a child nearly 20 years ago unfounded.
The Rev. Michael W. O’Connell will resume his role as pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish on Thursday, according to a statement from Archdiocese of Chicago spokeswoman Susan Burritt.
“I knew the truth and I knew the Lord … stood with me,” O’Connell said at a Tuesday news conference.
But the decision to reinstate O’Connell drew heated criticism from the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
“We are disappointed and surprised that Cardinal Francis George is putting Fr. Michael W. O’Connell back on the job despite an accusation that he sexually assaulted a boy in 1990,” a statement from SNAP read.
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