AUSTRALIA
Sydney Morning Herald
Jorge Branco
A Queensland Catholic priest wrestled naked with an altar boy who had come to him for support and groped his genitals, police will allege.
Father Michael Joseph McKeaten’s case was mentioned in court on Wednesday, less than a month after he withdrew from the ministry and more than 25 years after the alleged sexual offence.
He ministered at more than half a dozen parishes and was still the parish priest at two schools west of the Gold Coast until earlier this month, when he was farewelled by students with a cake at his final mass.
The priest of 38 years was expected to take the helm of four parishes in Ipswich but last Tuesday, the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane revealed he had alerted them of the charge and withdrawn from “active ministry”.
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