PENNSYLVANIA
Reading Eagle
By Liam Migdail-Smith
ALLENTOWN, PA
EMMAUS – A senior Allentown Catholic Diocese priest who began his career in Reading was caught with child pornography on his computer, Lehigh County District Attorney James B. Martin said Tuesday.
Officials said Monsignor John S. Mraz admitted that he sought out and viewed the images for his sexual gratification. They said the investigation began after a parishioner of Mraz’s Emmaus church reported uncovering a file with a name along the lines of “naked little boys” while performing maintenance the priest had requested.
Mraz, 66, is the former pastor of the Church of St. Ann, a neighborhood church with an on-campus elementary and middle school. He taught at the former Reading Central Catholic High School from 1975 to 1980 and was an assistant superintendent of the diocesan school system.
The allegations came as a shock to some parishioners in the neighborhood.
“I was heartbroken,” said Carmela Mannino, a neighborhood resident who splits her time at church between St. Ann and another parish where she used to live. “My stomach hurts from just thinking about it.”
Diocesan officials said Tuesday that Mraz “has been removed from public ministry and cannot present himself as a priest.” He is free on $50,000 unsecured bail following an arraignment before Lehigh County District Judge Donna R. Butler.
Martin said his investigators did not turn up any evidence of Mraz directly sexually abusing children, only that he searched for and viewed child pornography. But he said people should contact his office if they know of any other misconduct by Mraz.
“Obviously if the filing of these charges gives rise to concern on the part of parishioners or other people associated with Monsignor Mraz, I would encourage them to come forward,” Martin said. “But I have no evidence of that occurring at this point.”
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