INDIA
UCA News
ucanews.com reporter, Kochi, India February 11, 2016
A Catholic bishop in southern India has lifted the suspension of a priest convicted last year of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in the United States.
The 2010 suspension order imposed on Father Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul, 61, was lifted on Jan. 16 after consultations with the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop Arulappan Amalraj of Ootacamund told ucanews.com Feb. 9.
“It was not a personal decision, but was done after extensive consultation and under the guidance of competent authorities,” Bishop Amalraj said.
Father Jeyapaul, posted to Crookston Diocese in Minnesota for parish work in 2004, returned home within a year following allegations of sexual abuse.
Interpol arrested him in 2012 to face charges in the U.S. of sexually abusing two girls while serving Crookston Diocese.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.