No charges for Peterborough priest; diocese launches internal review

CANADA
Peterborough Examiner

By Jason Bain, The Peterborough Examiner
Monday, December 5, 2016

No criminal charges will be laid after a Peterborough Catholic priest was investigated for sexual misconduct alleged to have taken place in the 1980s at the summer camp where he was the longtime director, parishioners learned on the weekend.

The news about Rev. Bill Moloney, who is on leave from his role as priest at Immaculate Conception Church, was shared by Rev. Joe Morin on behalf of Bishop William McGrattan during masses at the sanctuary on Rogers St. in East City on Saturday and Sunday.

The Haliburton Highlands OPP Detachment had informed the diocese that their investigation about the alleged incident at Camp Northern Lights had concluded and no charges would be laid, said Deirdre Thomas, a spokesperson for the diocese.

Moloney stepped down from the directorship of the camp for kids aged nine to 13 founded in the 1970s by the Knights of Columbus. He is also the chaplain at three schools: St. Peter’s Secondary School, and Immaculate Conception and Monsignor O’Donoghue elementary schools.

Now that the police investigation is done, the diocese will conduct its own internal probe over the next couple of months, Thomas said. It will include a “comprehensive review of the exercise of responsible priestly ministry,” she added.

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