Church Shielded Abusive Priest, Man Says

NEW YORK
Courthouse News Service

By NICK DIVITO

MINEOLA, NY (CN) — A New Yorker filed suit against a Catholic Church on Long Island that he says keeps his abuser in active ministry, despite mounting complaints.

Sean Kiefaber says he was between 5 and 7 years old from 2001 to 2003 when the Rev. Gregory Yacyshyn sexually molested him during after-school youth programs at the St. Francis of Assisi parish in Greenlawn, N.Y.

The Diocese of Rockville Center ordained Yacyshyn in 1998, and St. Francis is one of three parishes where Yacyshyn has worked over the years, according to the complaint, filed Monday in Nassau County Supreme Court.

Newsday quoted the diocese this week as saying it “intends to address the claims vigorously in a court of law.”

Kiefaber’s suit comes about three months after a woman named Kaitlyn Monghan brought similar claims against the Rockville Center diocese, the St. Francis parish and the Rev. Yacyshyn. The priest is not a defendant to Kiefaber’s suit, however, which takes aim only at the parish and diocese.

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